The scams are rampant these days, and seem to be getting worse. Some of the most common ones:
CRA scams will target people, often seniors, advising the person of a deposit to be made, with a link to open. If they can get a person to pick up the phone, they might tell them they owe CRA money, and will try to instil fear. I think it is best not to answer CRA calls, and never open a link to deposit money to your account. Instead login to your CRA account and check to see if there is an outstanding balance.
Fake shipping scams via text or email, are also very common. They will have a fairly convincing looking copy of the company logo. If you are not expecting a package, you can be pretty sure it is a phishing scam. If you are expecting a package, rather than respond to the potential scam, login to UPS, Canada Post, or whatever, and use the tracking number to check.
There are also scams posing as Amazon, warning you about suspicious charges on your credit card. Ignore them, and check the card, as well as the order info on the Amazon website.
The rule of thumb, first and foremost, is not to take the bait. Delete the message. And go to the source separately from any messages you get.
Suspicious emails will often have a long string of characters, instead of a corporate identity. After awhile, you learn to recognize the layout, and return email when it comes to your bank, PayPal etc.
Probably the most concerning, is when they send you a text giving you the first or last numbers of an account, and then saying there is suspicious activity on the account. It is cause for concern, because they do seem to have the account number.
In that case, once again, login and check your account. Change the passwords, and security questions. Some banks will allow you to change from using your client card number, to a username. If a scammer has your client card number, it makes sense to change to a username, as well as changing your password.
Many of us have been scammed, myself included. There are some very deceptive tactics. Be especially cautious of Interac e-transfers. When I was scammed, it was due to an e-transfer. I had to change accounts, and send a notarized declaration to the bank, to say I did not give anyone access to the account.
After that, you have to change all the automatic deposits, withdrawals etc. So prevention is better than having to deal with the aftermath. Like any other form of invasion, or theft, it leaves you feeling vulnerable, and trying to figure out how it happened.
It is a good idea to clear the cache on your computer on a regular basis, and check all the security and privacy settings.
As far as online shopping, it might be a good idea to get a pre-paid Visa card, which can be set up in certain banks, and can also be purchased from Canada Post for $10. You can load the card at the post office, if you want to avoid doing so online using your bank information. The card seems to be secure with an online login, and detailed list of all transactions. You can use it like a regular card. When you are planning on making a purchase, or purchases, you can load the amount you need, and otherwise keep the balance low. I have never had a scammer contact me in relation to the Canada Post Visa, but have had scammers contact me re the standard MasterCard.
Although I have not had any direct experience, I have read there are fake taxi scams, where a person buys a taxi sign off Amazon, and then sits at an airport. That is pretty scary, to think you might inadvertently get into a stranger’s vehicle. They will then use your debit card to access your account.
Others have reported that cards can be scanned while they are on your person. Once again, this seems incredible. I use a metal business card holder for bank cards. I think one of the greatest vulnerabilities is the use of tap. It may be convenient, but it is too convenient. If someone manages to steal your card, they do not have to know the pin number, or anything in order to use it.
We have been lulled into a world of convenience. But when you get scammed, convenience goes out the window. It is very inconvenient to have to deal with a scam. Apparently it is also very difficult to catch the scammers.
It seems the best approach is to avoid responding to any unknown contacts. In my opinion, this includes online surveys, claims you have won a prize, robocalls, etc. Be highly suspicious of anything that tries to convey a sense of urgency, or demands a response.
We do not have to answer the phone when it comes to unknown callers. We do not have to respond to unsolicited text messages or emails. If we did not initiate the contact, chances are they want something from us.
Personally, I do not save passwords on any device due to the syncing, and hacking potential. I believe it increases vulnerability. I also believe it is important to be vary cautious who you hire to file your taxes, and who you give access to when it comes to filing. Unless you have a very complex situation, it is probably best to file your own taxes. There is now some very good tax filing software that makes it easier to file, as well as to track any potential errors.
For those who have a lot of money, of course things are much more complicated, and likely, they will have sophisticated measures in place to protect their accounts.
But for the average Joe, we are sitting ducks, if we don’t use vigilance and care. Keep a list of your accounts, and check them frequently to stay on top of things. Never click on a link when you get an unsolicited email or text.
If someone makes a shipping error, and sends you something you did not order, wait and see what happens. It is difficult to contact an organization when you do not have a purchase order, a record of purchase, or payment.
We are not responsible for the incompetence of a business, that does not properly process, ship or track an item. If they send something you did not order, wait awhile, see if they send someone to pick it up, and then after three or four weeks, donate it. There have been scams that create a huge hassle for a person, in order to return a product to they can gain access to your account, over a shipping error.
Given all the addiction, and street crime, I think it is safer to keep bank cards, phone, and keys in a zippered pocket, or a fanny pack around your waist, as opposed to carrying a large hand bag when out walking. In some cases, it might be better to just bring one debit card, as opposed to a wallet full.
It is unfortunate to see such a rise in scams, and trickery. Yet we really cannot avoid the fact that all records are online. This includes all financial, and medical records, and websites we visit.
You will also notice how many websites offer something free. But in most cases, it is only a free trial, and after a 14-30 day period, they will be charging you full price. They want to get you hooked into the subscription.
Recently I answered an online questionnaire about shoulder pain. The website claimed they would help identify the problem free of charge. I knew darn well, they would get you to answer thirty questions, then ask for money at the end, before telling you anything.
So just to see, I answered the questions, and sure enough, at the end, they wanted money, even though they advertised it as free. Unless you want to waste your time, don’t fall for the free ads. But what it did for me, was it helped identify the specific movements that caused the pain. Then after I narrowed it down, I was able to see that it was likely a rotator cuff injury.
When I thought about it, I realized how I got the injury lifting and moving container plants. So I evaluated anything that might worsen it, and stopped doing anything to cause strain, as well as started exercise to help with range of motion.
In addition to being vigilant over financial institutions, we also have to be vigilant over our health, because the system is overloaded as it is. I know there are many people who discredit any attempts to self-diagnose. But I think if it is something you can evaluate, and then take measures to see if it will improve – why not?
Some people adamantly believe in yearly check-ups, taking doctors advice as gospel, taking whatever prescription medication they are prescribed, and going through whatever diagnostic tests they are told to go through.
Once again, I think it is wise to maintain autonomy, and evaluation over our own health. If we have something seriously wrong, we will have to go to a doctor or hospital. We know our own body better than anyone else does. Once you notice something is off, it means we need to evaluate the cause, and change something to see if it improves.
Just like it is not a good idea to turn our financial matters over to every scam or contact, we should also be wary of drug promotions, and turning our physical selves over to the system, if we can help it.
It is not a matter of rejecting all things, but rather, sharpening our discernment, and making careful choices, based on what we are experiencing and observing. Some people turn themselves over to a doctor, like they would take a used car to a mechanic, and say “fix it”.
However, personal responsibility means exercising caution, and good judgement. We all make mistakes, and worse yet, we can all be deceived, or misled. It is not to suggest that certain diagnostic tests, and certain medications are not beneficial, the same as not all deals, or sales are scams.
We just have to become more adept at filtering, and sorting the good from the bad. I think we also need to trust our intuition, and gain confidence in our own better judgement. Experts are not always experts, and advice is not always sound advice. I think we should always be able to take it or leave it when it comes to our own lives, health, and ability to steer clear of trouble.
I was listening to a podcast on this topic, and although it may sound macabre to some, it was actually quite interesting.
The people being interviewed consisted of those with first hand testimonials, describing end of life scenarios with loved ones.
There was a group of people with family secrets, and back stories – revealed in the discussions about their family member’s deathbed experience.
Painful issues and outlines came out; from bigamy, to incest, childhood abuse, affairs, illegitimate children, and various conflicts leading up to long term estrangement.
All of these individuals gave a fairly detailed family history, and were able to express the emotional upheaval it caused for them.
For the most part, they were pointing out the range of family secrets, betrayals, misunderstandings, and the hope for resolution, and forgiveness, in the final days of life.
It represented a releasing of a multitude of memories, and mistakes. This often spanned decades, and more than one generation.
In many of these cases, it was the impending death itself that brought about the only chance for reconciliation and forgiveness.
In some cases, the person on their deathbed grappled more with the issues, than the family did. In other cases, it was the family, or one member of the family, who struggled the most. They tried, and often succeeded in overcoming past differences.
One woman had an intense desire to know who her biological father was. As a teenager, she found out her father was not her biological father. She learned she had been adopted by him as a young child. She had done her own investigation, searching for the truth of her past.
Her mother had lived in the country, and had given birth when she was just sixteen years old. She later married, therefore her illegitimate child was adopted by the man her mother married. Many people are probably aware of similar situations in their own families.
But for some reason, the adoption became a bone of contention between mother and daughter. The daughter could not get her mother to talk about it. She was stonewalled, and gaslighted every time she tried. Her mother told her she was crazy – making things up.
During the podcast interviews, long after her mother had died, the woman still strongly believed she had a right to know who her birth father was. She had trouble forgiving her mother for her refusal to tell her.
In spite of the fact her daughter had gone through freedom of information channels, to find her birth record, as well as the adoption record, her mother consistently denied the adoption.
Over the years, up to, and including her death, her mother never wavered in her resolve, adamantly maintaining her adoptive father, was in fact, her biological father.
Even on her deathbed, after years of badgering by her daughter, she never did admit it, or tell her who her biological father was. She took it to her grave.
Some people would just let it go. But such is human nature, for some to become obsessed with finding out the truth of their own birth, identity, and history.
In another situation, a daughter, as a teenager, who thought all was well in their family, found out her father was having an affair, and had a child with the other woman. He had also married the other woman, so he was a bigamist on top of it all.
It shattered his daughter’s illusion of their family life. His wife divorced him, and he moved to another country with his new wife and family.
The oldest daughter from his first marriage felt angry, and betrayed for many years, and was estranged from her father.
Finally she broke down, and went to visit him. Together, just the two of them went out for lunch, and sat down for a heart to heart, long-awaited chat. She envisioned this as being some quality, one on one time with her dad, to let bygones be bygones, and patch things up.
To her utter dismay, she learned her father had done the same thing all over again. He was about to leave his current wife, because he had married another woman. The third wife was expecting their second child.
So in his fifties, he had three or four young children, and two different women to support. The daughter was gobsmacked. She finally realized he had some fatal flaws.
She went home shocked, and appalled. She could not even finish her lunch on the day she met with him. She choked on her dumpling, and then got up and walked out.
Once again, they were estranged for a couple more years. At the time, she thought she was done with him.
However, it was not much later, her father became ill, was diagnosed with cancer, and realized he was dying. He had young children to consider, and his life was a mess. Once again, he was a bigamist.
As it turned out, his oldest daughter helped him, cared for him, and made arrangements for his young children to be cared for.
Clearly, all of it was a painful experience for her, but somehow she managed to put the well being of others ahead of her own feelings about all of it.
Perhaps more than anything, it highlights the need for validation of another person’s feelings within families, and the fatal flaws we carry with us to our graves.
In the first case, if her mother at some point would have admitted the adoption, the relationship would not have become so strained.
But who really knows why she would have withheld the information. It could have been the biological father was a preacher, a teacher, a neighbour, a married man, or even a family member.
Or it could have been the whole experience was so shameful, and at a time when unwed mothers were segregated, and hidden away, while simultaneously gossiped about, and judged as the proverbial bad girl, or girl in trouble – by everyone who suspected it.
Her mother may have used strong denial, to protect herself from more shame. It might have been too difficult for her mother to revist the whole ordeal.
At some point the daughter might be able to trace it through familial DNA websites, if she submits her own DNA, and then starts seeking matches.
There is little doubt. The family we are born into holds many untold stories, secrets, and skeletons in closets, rattling to get out. They are itching to escape with the truth, and dance on a few graves in the process.
In the second case, it truly is a poignant story about a daughter’s love, forgiveness, and restoration. In the end, her father and his young children, relied on her a great deal, even though he had abandoned her when she was young.
In addition to the grieving family members telling their stories, they also had a group of professionals contributing to the conversation.
There was a couple of palliative care nurses, an end of life doula, a couple of psychologists, and oddly enough – a funeral crasher.
It was actually kind of funny, because the professionals were aghast at the notion of an interloper, who would arrive on the scene of a sacred funeral, interrupt the service, and tell all.
They did not think it could possibly be well intentioned. They tried to coat their disdain in some professional lingo, but he didn’t care. He was speaking for the dead guy – not them.
The entrepreneur who does the funeral crashing, sees it as a growing trend. He said he began the career with one funeral, as a joke, doing it for a friend. From there, it morphed into a full time business, with multiple referrals.
Since the dead don’t give referrals, it must be the theme or concept of funeral crashing, rapidly gaining in popularity.
He unabashedly said he makes a good living at it. He explained he is hired to do a job, the same as anyone else. He sits down with a client, and together they draft up the funeral crashing contract.
Therefore, he has an obligation to do what his client wants him to do. He charges between $2000, and $10,000 to crash a funeral.
He clarified his role as being the final voice, the emissary, or agent – called upon to carry out the deathbed wishes of the person in the coffin.
In spite of the pejorative and judgemental remarks toward his occupation, he blew them off. He was speaking for the dead. They hired him to do the job. He respects their wishes, and honours the agreement.
He rationalized it by saying they are not taking their money with them, and they can spend it however they want to.
In his role, he would boldly interrupt a funeral, and read out the message from the dead person. In once case, he called out the best friend of the deceased for hitting on, and sleeping with his wife, while he was sick.
In another case, a man with a large family, and a reputation for being a brilliant, and successful businessman – wanted the truth to be known.
He had been a fraud. It was a conscience clearing confessional of sorts. He wanted it to finally be known to everyone at his funeral, that he did not make his money in business at all.
In fact, he had won a lottery when he was in his early twenties, and managed to keep it under wraps, as he went on to get married, and start a family.
He did invest wisely over several decades, and did not blow it all, like so many lottery winners do. So to his credit, he did have some business acumen. He made a joke of it, and left all of them with a sizeable inheritance. A truly – dearly departed type story.
Others were not so lucky, and had some vitriol for ex wives, and ex business partners, as well as people who were false friends.
In spite of the negativities toward the funeral crasher, for making a living off these deathbed wishes, he had no feelings of shame at all, for doing so.
He told the psychologists they were essentially doing the same thing. They too were profiting off the hardships, emotions, and difficulties – where there is a coming to terms, with betrayals that are part of life.
He basically said they were taking money with similar motives. Only they wrap everything in euphemisms, and keep it all hidden from view, whispering in the shadows.
I suppose in a practical sense, there must be some legalities surrounding the role of being a funeral crasher. If the dead person is paying for his or her own funeral, one would think they can have some control over how it is carried out.
It just goes to show you, some people can reach out, and orchestrate a few things, even after they are gone.
The funeral crasher is not limited to speaking at funerals only. Sometimes he reads the messages at end of life celebrations, or during the reading of wills.
The nice nurses, along with the prim and proper psychologists, thought it was just awful, vengeful, and demonstrating a symptom of narcissism.
His final quip was “Hey. Don’t shoot the messenger.” Fair enough. He still has work to do.
When his time comes – someone might try to bury him with his foot in his mouth!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The rampant addiction and overdose deaths continue to rise, and create crisis after crisis for families, communities, health care, and education.
The issue of addiction has creeped into every nook and cranny of our lives. If we ourselves have not battled it, someone in our family has.
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies to the topic of addiction, probably more than most health related issues.
When asking the question about how to prevent addiction, and where does it start? For most of us, the obvious answer is that it begins in the home, and must be recognized how much early developmental learning, comes through observation, emotions, and intergenerational patterns.
First of all, we need to be cognizant of how our own parents managed addiction. In many cases, addicted children have addicted parents. Even if the parent does overcome the addiction at some point, the children are still prone to addiction, and such vulnerabilities cannot be overlooked.
We also have to be aware that parental addiction is not only about drugs and alcohol. It can also be manifested in workaholism, gambling, food, and various other forms of escapism, or habits.
The first step is in identifying increased vulnerability in ourselves, in our families, and especially for the sake of the children.
Children at most risk are those who are traumatized. Children who end up in foster care end up having more trauma than combat veterans. Children who are exposed to domestic violence, sexual assault, neglect, and shame, become hard wired to seek forms of escapism.
Our familial patterns can take many years to recognize and overcome. The effects of PTSD and profound shame associated with family of origin, cannot be shaken off in a few weeks or months.
Most of all, the emotional scars cannot be remedied with drugs or alcohol, as is so often the case. When someone tells another person to get help, what exactly does that mean?
Where do they get help? Paradoxically, every program is likely to focus on giving more drugs to combat the drug addiction. Why?
We can never under estimate the power of the pharmaceutical companies, and the role they play in contributing to widespread addiction. They want steady customers. Repeat customers are the proverbial cash cow.
Therefore many addiction programs will focus on harm reduction, which just means they substitute one drug for another. But as most of us familiar with how addiction works, we know that abstinence is the only cure. Prescription drugs can be just as deadly as street drugs.
Once a person enters a rehab facility or a treatment centre, or the mental health system, they are likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder, and prescribed psychotropic drugs. Often they are prescribed antipsychotics, which target the dopamine receptor sites, just as many other drugs do – especially opiates.
In addition, there is no real way to track how poly pharmaceuticals in conjunction with street drugs, can potentiate each other.
Not long ago I watched a YouTube show about a young woman who was around twenty years old, and ended up in rehab. She was bright, energetic, and had an outgoing gregarious personality. When she was in rehab, she became anxious and restless. They gave her benzodiazepines, which is the anti-anxiety class of drug, most commonly known as Valium, Ativan and the mood stabilizer Clonazepam.
Although benzodiazepines are not similar to opiates in how they work chemically, they are just as dangerous, just as addictive. People who become addicted to benzos require months, and sometimes years of very careful tapering to get off them.
When the young woman was discharged from rehab, she had a prescription for Valium. She was full of hope and had written a diary, to express her new found confidence in being able to kick her drug habit. Unfortunately, she was full of hope, but hopelessly naive.
She went home, and immediately got a job in a bar. She hooked up with old friends and was exposed to the usual party scene. She was still taking Valium during the day, and started drinking at night. Within a matter of weeks, she relapsed and started taking street drugs again. And shortly after that, she died of an overdose, leaving a grief stricken family behind.
How many times do we read about an addict relapsing a hundred times? Or going through a treatment program twelve to twenty times? In the US drug culture, they refer to this as body brokering. In other words, the system is designed to cycle people through treatment programs, with no intention of seeing them get off drugs.
They even have a referral system to see if the person has insurance, or wealthy parents, and they will get plugged into the treatment centre, get discharged, relapse, and go back for repeat treatments until they die, or the funds are exhausted.
For those of us who claim abstinence is the only way out, we get harm reduction advocates screaming blue murder. They will insist the quest for abstinence is killing people, and they will use histrionics and hyperbole, to fuel the steady, and ever increasing flow of drugs.
They will claim the push for recovery, through abstinence, represents a profound lack of compassion. But wanting to see people get well – is not a lack of compassion.
Addiction is very easy to fall into, and very difficult to climb out of. Therefore is makes sense to prioritize prevention. The cost of addiction is part of the profiteering malevolent cycle.
In order to tackle the problem of addiction, there has to be a complete paradigm shift. It starts in our minds, and in the minds of our children.
We understand there are laws to help protect us from physical, and sexual assault. But we have no laws to protect our minds and emotions from infiltration, and assault, by those wishing to exploit us, and rob our potential.
In fact, the assault on our minds and emotions can be just as deadly as physical assaults, yet the perpetrators never face any charges, because there is no outward bruising, or signs of assault.
The stage can be set for self-medicating psychic and emotional pain, long before the individual or family is aware of it. On behalf of children, we need to protect their minds and their emotions, as well as protect them physically.
We also need to be aware that we have become a pill pushing society. Every ailment has a pill to remedy it. We have come to believe we need those pills as a quick fix for every hindrance we face.
Children watch their parents, and grandparents use medication, and begin to see it as a normal part of life.
When I worked in ER, part of the history, and documentation to be entered on the patient’s chart, was to list the medications the person was taking. Often they did not even know the names of the drugs, or why they were taking them.
It was not uncommon for the patient to bring in a brown paper bag filled with bottles of pills. The ER staff would go through them, and write them down, because the patient could not list them all when questioned. One person could easily have fifteen or twenty prescription drugs in that bag. This was especially so for seniors.
Previously, I did some research, and wrote a blog post about the multiple classes of drugs prescribed to certain groups, and how they stacked up in relation to age, and demographics.
Not surprisingly, it was those in poverty, seniors, and Indigenous people, who were prescribed the most classes of drugs.
It is not to say people don’t require medication for certain ailments. It is just that we have learned to expect there is a pill for everything, from depression to high cholesterol, and every ache and pain that plagues us.
Instead, we should be focusing more on diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, wellness, and stable routines. We need to find ways to have fun, without drugs and alcohol.
Sports, hobbies, fresh air, camping, music, learning, and positive relationships, with much care and attention to who we allow into our lives, will contribute to overall wellness. Music and sports probably top the list for young people, as healthy outlets.
Although we may have many regrets about our own addictive tendencies, and how we may have affected our children, we can only use what we have learned to try and help others. We cannot turn back the clock.
Therefore, overcoming addiction must carry forward with love, and forgiveness within families. We need to do so, without neglecting to validate the amount of emotional pain it has caused.
By the time a child enters school, many of the intrinsic coping mechanisms have already been established. If the schools genuinely want to help address the problem of addiction, and protect children, they must incorporate education about addiction into the school curriculums at every age level.
In addition to validating the effects of psychological and emotional pain, and the importance of protecting our minds and emotions, the education surrounding addiction is extensive.
How many kids have been put on Ritalin, then go on to use meth? How many of them were diagnosed with ADHD when really they were simply rambunctious, bright, high energy kids? Or maybe their lack of attention was an attempt to seek distractions, which is another form of escapism from emotional pain or trauma.
Instead of addressing the vulnerability, and properly assessing the child, they start them on drugs, in order to manage them, and keep them in line. It is the worst thing they could do to them.
How is any school going to begin to educate about addiction, if they are encouraging parents to put their kids on Ritalin?
To be sincere about wellness, the educational systems need to provide honest information about the effects of drugs on every system of the body. Just as kids learn the periodic table of elements to understand sodium, magnesium, calcium etc. they should also learn how these chemical elements affect the bodily systems.
The book “Molecules of Emotion” written in 1997 by Candace Pert made the connection between dopamine, endorphins, and the physiology between internal chemistry and emotions.
Candace Pert was a neuroscientist and pharmacologist who was credited with the discovery of opioid receptors in the brain, and the cellular binding site for endorphins in the body. She lectured about many related topics, and wrote a significant amount of material.
What I found interesting when I watched some of the interviews and lectures given by Candace Pert, is that she often had a can of Coke sitting beside her, instead of a bottle of water. Even though it is a minor thing, it is interesting to note, she too experienced the pitfalls of a form of addiction.
Candace Pert died at the age of 67 of congestive heart failure, and was clearly sick and overweight for at least the last ten years of her life.
She had the knowledge, but she still struggled with maintaining her own health. What can we learn from it?
The subject of molecules and emotion, and how it relates to knowledge is so complex, it transcends what our minds can grasp.
We are constantly seeking to feel good, to feel better, and to fill a void within us. If we reach for the wrong remedy, it becomes a bad habit. if we continue the habit, it becomes an addiction. If we continue the addiction, it will kill us.
We are the subjects of someone else’s profit motive, whether we realize it or not. So within this convoluted train wreck of addiction, there lies a profit motive, messaged toward us from every direction imaginable.
The advertising and propaganda is beamed into our brains. Greed, and the love of money – are two of the most essential components driving it at the higher levels. These motives are often concealed. We need to learn to be far less gullible.
Rather than allowing our minds and bodies to become a cauldron of chemical soup, we need to find ways to feel good without addictive substances. It is not always easy, that’s for sure.
It means we have to acknowledge the importance of the gut biome, as a very important part of the internal chemistry. We have to evaluate sugar, pop, and fast foods, as part of the attack upon our systems, because they too, set off a train reaction and increase our risk of addiction to harmful substances.
We have to find ways to cope with hardship, losses, and pain, without resorting to self-medicating. Fresh air, exercise, hobbies, adequate sleep, learning, our spiritual lives, our love for family and others – all contribute to our well-being.
Personally, I believe one of the worst things for our mental health, is shame. Although it is often children from homes steeped in poverty, addiction, instability, and trauma who feel the most shame, the burden of shame has no respecter of persons either.
Children from good homes can also feel ashamed and unworthy. Perhaps they are portrayed as the perfect child. Perfectionism is damaging, because no one is perfect.
Or maybe they have a sibling who is the apple of the parents eye, and they are not. All kinds of things can cause shame for a child. In fact, favouring one child over another wreaks havoc under the surface of many familial veneers.
Almost all families have some form of dysfunction. To make matters more difficult, we tend to be master’s when it comes to denial.
Shame increases vulnerability to addiction. It is another form of emotional pain that may seek to self-medicate. Addiction is best addressed in an open, and communicative environment within the family.
None of us can rightfully deny what the other is experiencing, because denial is also part of what fuels addiction. If there is denial, there is re-victimization.
On the flip side of shame, we see narcissism, which also represents a very fragile ego. The healthiest outlook is one of quiet confidence, without a need to be special, or talented, or use achievements in order to measure self worth.
There is no way to summarize the tip of an iceberg. We either hit it and go down, or we find a way to navigate around it.
In my humble opinion, and less than stellar background, all I can say is first and foremost – protect the mind and emotions, as well as the body from assaults, grooming, shaming, exploitation etc. Set boundaries, or the destructive people, and systems – will bowl you over without giving it a second thought.
Secondly – understand that for those who have addictive tendencies, which truthfully, is most of us, we need to abstain. For the addict, there is a constant need to fill the void with more, until there is a certain mood elevation, sleep, and then the cycle begins again.
This is not a stagnant cycle. It is a very active and ever increasing vortex, until that deep sleep brought about by the substance, ends up becoming a permanent sleep.
And finally, probably most important of all, is the fact we are not only made up of mind and body, we also coexist in a spiritual world. Therefore, we have to integrate ourselves with a belief system that transcends our physical world.
There is much criticism in our very secular world, towards those who acknowledge the importance of our spiritual beliefs, but regardless, they are probably at the heart of every recovery, and certainly the hope for a true recovery.
Candace Pert acknowledged the spiritual aspect of life, and unfortunately for her, she delved into New Age, instead of Christianity. Her expansive knowledge of pharmacology, and the chemistry of emotions, and how it led to her own spiritual beliefs, does reinforce that our spirituality is an ultimate quest.
It also tells us we not only must protect our minds, heart, and emotions – but more than anything, we also need to recognize and understand the importance of our spiritual lives, and what we choose to believe.
The void within us cannot be filled with harmful substances, because if we do, it is like feeding a wolf, prowling around with an insatiable hunger, and a determination to destroy us.
We cannot just take away the substance we are using to fill the abyss within us, because the emptiness will continue to haunt us, or we will fill it with something equally addictive.
We have to find our own pathway, and also find ways to fill the vacuity within us, with what is good, what is rewarding, and with what will sustain us for the long term.
Healing is both a journey, and a destination. It is metaphorically full of highwaymen with pistols, and wolves in sheep’s clothing.
There is a barren nihility, and a deep black hole, both on the inside, and on the outside, of this wrecking ball of the soul.
Somehow we need to learn to be wise, to be aware, and to be willing to do what we can, to prevent our children, and our grandchildren, from falling into the pit of addiction.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Poshmark was initially started in Texas in 2011 as a type of online garage sale. Over the next decade the concept grew Internationally, and sales were booming, as thousands of regular people caught onto the idea, and began to sell used items online to earn extra cash. It created a platform for both buyers and sellers.
In 2022 the company was purchased by the Korean conglomerate Naver for 1.2 billion dollars. By 2023 Poshmark operations were dropped in India, UK and Australia.
In addition to those setbacks, there were widely publicized cases of fraud, the reselling of stolen items, and unstable stock predictions.
A quick Google search states there is an 80% chance of impending financial distress for the company. However in some countries the sales are still fairly strong.
From personal experience, although I steer clear of EBay and Etsy due to the many reports of fraud, unshipped items etc. I decided to give Poshmark a try a few months ago.
After buying some items on Poshmark, I will share my own experiences or review, and explain why I quit shopping, or perusing, or buying anything else from the Canadian Poshmark site. One of the limitations of Poshmark, is that you can only buy within your own country.
On the up side, there are some good products, and honest sellers, as well as some good bargains to be found.
But to find a bargain, it is very time consuming and frustrating, so it is not all that enjoyable, mostly because of the way the website is designed, combined with a high percentage of blurry product photos.
Overall, I found the website to be poorly designed for such a large organization with a high volume of products listed.
You have to scroll endlessly through hundreds and hundreds of items. When you do find something of interest and click on it, you are back to square one. You cannot backspace to where you left off.
In addition, there are multiple repeat images sprinkled throughout page after page. Not only are you forced to look at all those items you have no interest in once, but several times.
Once you click on something to get a closer look, to get back to get to where you were, you have to scroll through all the same stuff you just bypassed. It is especially frustrating if you click on something that does not have decent product photos.
To circumvent this time consuming annoyance, you can simply click the like button if you see something of interest. This separates the things you are interested in, into a list that you can go and check out later. However, the problem with this method, is that you immediately get hundreds of spam emails on everything you clicked the like button on.
A percentage of sellers have very poor quality photographs, and may have only one or two photos, even if they are listing the item for $200 or more.
Worse yet, some of them will take stock photos off another website, and use those photos to advertise the used item they are selling. They use a photo that is not only someone else’s photo, but also one that is not a true reflection on what they are selling. They will also copy and paste the product description of the item instead of writing it themselves.
All sellers should be aware of copyright laws. They should post images of what they are actually selling, as well as write their own product descriptions. Some of them will add a disclaimer to let you know it is a “copy and paste” but I don’t think that is a good business practice either.
I can definitely attest to the fact that photography is very time consuming. One of the things I repeatedly tell myself is “don’t be lazy”. Even so, it is a challenge to get the noise out of the background, and to get clear, crisp shots, bypass glare, etc. as an amateur photographer.
Setting up an online store is not something you do in a week, if you want to do it well. Out of thousands of product photos, and blog photos, I think I might have two photos on the entire website that I did not take myself. In those cases, I make it very clear who took the photo.
One of the photos I could not resist using in a blog post about antique embroidered piano shawls, is a picture of Raquel Welch wearing a piano shawl, and a turquoise squash blossom necklace. It was taken when she was at the peak of her stunning beauty, and is an outstanding photo.
Otherwise all of the photos on my website, are photos I took myself. The same goes for all written material. You cannot take someone else’s writing and claim it as your own either.
Even when doing research, you have to read about things, get a general idea, write down dates, and other relevant information, and then extrapolate from that how you want to present it. If you do take direct quotes, they are put in quotation marks, and attributed to the source.
There is another well-known vintage website, where a person took credit for, and placed her own copyright symbol, name and logo, in large lettering on multiple famous vintage fashion shots. She plastered her information pretending to be the artist, and falsely copyrighted the photographs, forbidding anyone else to use them! It is beyond brazen.
She seemed to think she could take ownership of the copyrighted work of someone else, because she “found them on the Internet”. She also seemed to believe that searching for images, is akin to beach combing.
Copyright laws are very important, and not to be messed with. It is another form of theft and fraud, with stiff penalties for those who violate those laws.
Even for images, or works of art that do not have the copyright label printed on them – they are copyrighted anyway. You cannot steal someone else’s work. It is not hard to prove, especially for things published online, where the original came from.
Although it is not okay to steal or claim ownership of anyone’s photographs, or art, this person had the audacity to claim ownership of photographs that were taken by famous photographers, and published in magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
People should be made aware – they can get into serious trouble for stealing someone else’s work.
There are some sellers on Poshmark who post good photos, but for the most part, there are a lot of very haphazard, poor quality, unedited photographs, as well as the practice of showing new images of old products.
It is very misleading when someone is selling a ten year old Canada Goose coat for $1200, and they simply take their information off the Canada Goose website, depicting a brand new coat.
If you do find a seller who has good photography, and products – good luck if you can ever find them again. You cannot just type their user name into the address bar. In fact, I could never re-locate a good Poshmark store once I did find one.
Probably one of the main issues that caused me to swear off shopping on Poshmark, is the lack of any kind of refund policy.
Some of the items are very expensive, with many items listed for several hundred, or even several thousand dollars.
The ultimate pet peeve for me, was that as a buyer, if you make an offer on something, and the offer is accepted, it is binding. There is no turning back. You cannot change your mind, even if you realize the item is not what you thought it was.
However, if the seller changes his or her mind after accepting an offer, it is not binding for them. They simply do not ship the item, and will not respond to any messages you send them.
In this case, it is the only time you will get a refund. However, even if the seller is not acting in good faith, and refuses to answer an enquiry about why it has not been shipped, you still have to wait it out.
Then after a week or so, you will get an email from Poshmark, telling you they have contacted the seller about the fact it has not been shipped. So at least they keep tabs on whether or not something is actually being shipped.
There is an eight day wait period without it being shipped, and then another ten days to process the refund.
Although I never bought anything expensive, I found this to be unfair. If the offer is binding for the buyer, it should work both ways.
The seller does have the option to reject an offer if they want to. They should not be able to simply ignore a binding agreement once an item is bought and paid for.
I think the reason they do it, is because they get a better offer. But once a person agrees to a price, and the item is paid for, the buyer owns it. It is up to the seller to get the item sent out, because they no longer own that item.
What if a person paid $1000 for an outfit for a special occasion, or a coat they wanted to take on a trip? It means their money is tied up for almost three weeks, when there is no intention on the part of the seller to ship the item.
Although I did not buy anything expensive, after sellers failed to ship a couple of times – I decided I was done with Poshmark. I was getting way too many spam emails as well, which I wanted to stop.
For those who are selling brand new items on the Poshmark platform, I wondered where they came from, and if they might be stolen goods. As it turns out, some sellers on Poshmark have been busted for selling stolen goods.
The final annoyance was when I tried to delete the account, Poshmark would not accept my decision to delete the account.
There was a popup informing me the account cannot be deleted, because there were outstanding offers, which was not true.
But to be sure the cache was cleared, I cleared my own cache, and then went back ten days later, well after their stipulated time lapse, and still got the same message. If they think this type of thing will increase customer loyalty, for me, it was just the opposite.
So I deleted the payment methods, changed the address, changed the email address, removed all the likes, etc. I became even more determined to erase my existence on the site.
Even after doing all that, they still sent spam emails. So I finally put a block on all emails from them.
They have numerous marketing gimmicks, which I don’t fault them for, but I had no interest in them either. There were multiple invitations to Posh parties for everything under the sun.
There were constant messages to re-posh items. If you are not a seller, and have no interest in being a seller on Poshmark – why would you want to get messages to re-posh items? If I make a mistake on a non-refundable item, I donate it to the local thrift store, or to the homeless.
But the one thing I found most annoying of all, was when out of the blue, some random person would announce they were “styling” me. Then I would get 467 indiscriminate items in an email that had been “chosen” just for me. Good grief.
In all the millions of shoppers and products on Amazon, to their credit, they never spam people – or try to second guess what you might be interested in. They are smart enough to know people can shop for themselves.
When I first got the messages telling me so and so was now styling me – I thought, what on earth does that mean? I did not ask anyone to style me.
Do they really think adults cannot figure out their own style? Plus how do they know who you are shopping for? Maybe you are looking for a dress for a teenage girl? Maybe a person is shopping for their aunt, best friend or grandmother. How do they know?
Poshmark may have been a trend with a rapid International incline at the onset, due to the interest in vintage, reselling, niche markets, quality second hand items that are no longer made, and so on.
However, I do think they need to revamp their website into more user friendly categories so people can drill down to get to what they are interested in. I also believe they need to set some guidelines regarding photography, and ban the use of stock photos showing new items, when they are selling used.
They need to realize not everyone wants to be spammed, or styled by some unknown random person.
Another thing people should be aware of, is that even though some of the items look like thrift store items, they are not exactly thrift store prices.
In the past ten years or so, those who go to thrift stores have seen some significant increases, especially when it comes to designer items, collectibles, sterling silver, and various other unique artisan things. But overall, there are still many bargains to be found in thrift stores.
However on Poshmark, if you buy something, even at the lowest end of what is listed, by the time shipping and all the other fees are added, a $20 item becomes a $50 item.
It is too bad when collective, multi-vendor stores like Etsy and Poshmark have a few bad actors. They taint the waters for the majority, who are trying to set up a venue for selling things they have collected, taken care of, stored etc.
In that large pool of sellers, there are some gems, and there are some sharks. I think it is up to the parent organization to sort them out, as well as to structure a more user friendly website.
Otherwise, if they do not make the necessary improvements and safeguards, as well as limit the spam – in my opinion, they are not keeping up with the times.
Trends may seem like a hay day at first – but they can also be a flash in the pan.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
First and foremost, there are many marketing and SEO experts who will promise you wildly successful numbers if you employ their services. Some of them go so far as to say they will put your website at the top of Google’s pages.
Others will give average website statistics that are way over stated, like saying the average site gets over 10,000 visitors a month.
When you create averages that include banks, Amazon, hotels, and various other high traffic websites, it will drive the averages up. But it does not accurately reflect the average traffic to small business websites. In fact, all those inflated numbers can be quite discouraging for the new small business web developers.
It stands to reason the size of an organization, the resources, and above all, the content of the website, will be key factors driving the amount of traffic to a website. Also, as with all things, it takes time to become established. It also depends on how much paid advertising you do, to drive traffic to your website.
To be honest and open, I have not used any paid advertisement at all, and rely solely on content creation.
In actual fact most SME’s are very low on the statistical ladder, compared to sites like Amazon, or any high traffic site used on a daily basis for banking, groceries, general household items, computers, etc. The following online information provides a more realistic viewpoint:
“Average Number of Visitors Per Month. On the lower end of the spectrum – 13% of local businesses receive fewer than 100 visitors to their sites each month, while 55% receive fewer than 500. On the higher end, 20% of businesses receive more than 1500 monthly visitors to their site, and 15% receive over 2500 visitors.”
Google analytics does the crawling and tracking of all websites, and for awhile I used G/A to track visitors. However given that a website requires time and attention in addition to analytics, I found the many layers and complexities of G/A to be a bit much.
From there I tried a couple of condensed G/A plug-ins that gave a minimal amount of information, such as number of unique visitors, organic visitors, and bounce rates. In each case those plug-ins did not last long and failed, so I had to delete them.
After that I started looking for alternatives, and found there are quite a few in the open source arena.
After quite a few years adapting to the learning curve in web development, I know I probably do not view things the same way many others do. But I have learned to be wary, or rather cautious when it comes to plug-ins.
That is why you do not see pop-up ads all over my website. When I visit websites, I find those to be annoying and intrusive, so I don’t use them.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people add plug-ins with graphics that jump up and down to get your attention. I won’t stay on a website for five seconds if there are jumping and moving parts. In my opinion, it is like a sales clerk who will not allow you to walk around the store just to browse.
I know countless marketing people would tell me otherwise, but the beauty of doing your own thing – can’t be downplayed either.
In fact I started to think of plug-ins as being like prescription drugs. They might offer a quick or simple solution, but some of them have severe side effects. Some are heavy, and cumbersome. Others have bad code. Some of them can crash your entire site. They have a systemic influence. They can interact with each other, and usually it is not in a good way. Some are not kept up to date, and so on.
In my opinion, the worst plug-ins are the ones that take over your admin panel with ads, and attempts to get you to add more, or get the pro version. Some of them even have those annoying jumping emoticons, making it impossible to ignore them. Those kinds of plug-ins, in my opinion, are intolerable.
In addition, similar to prescription drugs, there can be unintended interactions between plug-ins that create problems on your website. My philosophy is to use plug-ins sparingly, and delete them as soon as you see any issues.
The reason for this is that if you do have issues like internal server errors, you must go through a lot of layers of trouble shooting. This includes the server, the theme, the fonts, and every single plug-in.
As I started to look for a lightweight open source analytics option, I came across Plausible Analytics, which is an open source plug-in developed in the UK. It is by far the best analytics plug-in I have ever come across.
To add to the benefits, if you have any issues at all, the creators of this plug-in will respond, and help you out promptly. In my books, that is a huge plus, because you can interact directly with the people who built it from the ground up.
It enables you to put the numbers of visitors on the dashboard in the back end, or admin panel of your store. The dashboard analytics are lightweight, with clean code, and easy to figure out. It gives you just what you want to see, and not a plethora of complicated information that you can’t be bothered with.
The Plausible Analytics plug-in is one of the best plug-ins, and among the top three of all the plug-ins I have chosen to keep thus far, making it invaluable.
After using it for almost a year, it has not failed. It allows you to quickly see the number of visitors, make comparisons, view the countries and cities that are visiting your site, and look at what happens on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. The link below shows the comparison mode from one month to the next:
Knowing there are multiple different time zones when you have a global audience, it also lets you view what happened the previous day when you get up in the morning. The following link shows what happened yesterday March 6, 2024:
It shows you a long list of all the top pages being viewed. I have provided just the sample of what is at the top of the page as it is quite long:
In addition to showing you the top pages, it shows the countries, which can be broken down into cities and regions. It also shows the devices used, and the sources:
There is a simple drop down menu on the right hand side that allows you to choose what you want to look at or compare:
And finally at the bottom of the page, you can set up and view Custom Properties, which I have not done yet. The following link gives information about custom properties, and also lets you see the documentation available on this plug-in:
I would definitely give this plug-in a five star review. As far as I know, it does not have the free version, and a pro version, but rather charges a little over $100 a year up front. I find this to be much more palatable than having a constant advertisement to upgrade to the pro version.
The Plausible Analytics dashboard is something I use on a daily basis because it is akin to keeping a finger on the pulse of what is going on with your website.
A website is interactive, and the vibrancy comes from the visitors. Therefore, in addition to respecting their privacy, we can also get an overview or snapshot of the interest generated.
Therefore to all the visitors, and to Plausible Analytics, I owe a debt of gratitude. I would like to thank all those who have an interest in the culture and creativity of our past, and how it blends with the current times.
There are many things with universal interest and appeal. It is a pleasure to share a collection that represents the artistic endeavours, combined with the technical expertise, from a wide variety of people and regions throughout the world.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
For most of us, we have either been the one doing the manipulating, or on the receiving end of the manipulation. Often times we do not realize we are being manipulated at the time. It stems from an unhealthy family or workplace dynamic.
Once it becomes chronic, it becomes a pattern of behaviour that can be very destructive. The manipulator becomes very skilled at manipulating.
In big business and politics, it might be viewed as skilled stratagem. It might also be seen as manoeuvring outcomes, or social and political engineering.
Other descriptives are a little more pejorative. Like wheeler-dealer, underhanded, double-crossing, rigging, tricking, setting up, and exploitation.
There is an underlying arrogance based on perceived cleverness, and the sophistication behind the tactics. Also a master manipulator can get countless people to follow along with whatever he is engineering. In many ways he becomes a manipulator mentor as well.
In Psychology Today it is described as follows. I will post the link to the full article at the bottom of the post.
“Chronic manipulation often (but not always) emerges from a highly competitive environment, in which various parties (family members, classmates, coworkers, social groups, societal affiliations, economic interests) jockey for power, influence, resources, and advantage, and where one feels a lack of direct and abundant power/control over a situation. The manipulator, feeling a sense of deprivation, insufficiency, and disadvantage, or conversely craving for more power, influence, and advantage, resorts to cunning and underhandedness in order to attain what he or she desires. Over time, this type of behavior can become chronic and habitual, with inevitable destructive consequences.”
Paradoxically the behaviour stems from a place of powerlessness. It stands to reason that it has its origins in early and learned dysfunctional family dynamics.
A person who feels ignored by his parents, or rejected by his mother, might resort to getting attention in other ways.
Also when there is sibling rivalry, especially when a parent favours one child over another, the competition within the family dynamic can turn toxic.
Typically the one who is favoured gets beat by the one who is not favoured. Parents are not perfect, as we all can attest to. However there is probably no greater damage done to the sibling rivalry, and competition within a family, than when a parent favours one child over another.
If the older children, or the child who is not the favourite one, has had other supportive relationships to help offset the parental adoration of his sibling, it might help him overcome it.
Or if the age difference is large enough so the older child had enough attention in his/her formative years, it might not be as difficult to overcome the sense of unfairness, or perceived rejection.
In families with very limited resources, education, support systems, and wisdom among the adults around them, the dysfunctional dynamics can become ingrained, and even violent.
The outlook for the favoured one becomes very jaundiced, and the perceived fondness soon becomes a major disadvantage.
The difficulty for parents is that no two children are alike, therefore it is very difficult to treat them exactly the same.
Also it is impossible to know how things will be perceived by a child. Perhaps there is no overt favourtism at all, but they feel inadequate in some way. Or they compare themselves to a sibling who might do better in math, sports, school, music etc.
Siblings by nature compete with one another. And in the face of adversity, each one develops his or her own way of coping with the difficulties. In some cases it is a matter of survival. So each one learns what he or she has to do to survive.
Since manipulative behaviours are so common, there are no easy answers when it comes to developing the discernment to recognize and avoid the various pit falls and patterns
The link to the entire Psychology Today article is below:
The presence of PFC compounds in the Gore-Tex fabric, is the reason being given for the reduction in Gore-Tex products. In fact the company is claiming they are phasing out the traditional Gore-Tex line by the year 2025.
For those of us who live in a rainy climate, as well as those who are avid outdoors people, Gore-Tex is almost something we took for granted. Just ten or fifteen years ago, a decent Gore-Tex jacket was $200-$350, and after a few years, the style became outdated and it was time to upgrade.
But now, things are changing. For those who have a Gore-Tex Shakedry cycling jacket, they would be best to hang onto it, because they stopped making them altogether. All this began about a year ago, and we are about to see less Gore-Tex, and more alternatives like waxed cotton, and various other water resistant fabrics.
If you Google just about any brand of Gore-Tex jackets now, you will see a price tag of $600 or more. In some cases those jackets are not made to the same standard and ply that we saw in jackets fifteen or twenty years ago.
In addition to changes in the textile industry in many other areas, to include an increase in the cost of cotton, some companies are switching away from the Gore-Tex membrane, to various types of microporous polyurethane.
In my opinion, polyurethane is not likely to be breathable like Gore-Tex is, and waxed cotton is only going to last so long before you get soaked.
In addition, you will notice when you look up the Gore-Tex brand online, many are claiming to use recycled Gore-Tex, so I am not sure how that takes the offending PFC compounds out of the environment.
In the case of Gore-Tex boots, certain companies, like Patagonia who made excellent waterproof hiking boots ten or fifteen years ago for around $200, are now obsolete. They have since partnered with another company and sell their waterproof boots for over $600.
Patagonia has also partnered with Gore-Tex and Bionic to create a men’s jacket in 2023 called “StormShadow Parka” which is listed at $899 US.
One of the non Gore-Tex companies that makes great coats in my opinion, is the Swedish brand Fjallraven. The coats will not keep you dry in very wet weather, but are an excellent choice for the urban walker.
In addition to it being a nice looking textile, not too rugged, yet sort of city casual, in a waxed cotton blend – the coat is knee length, unbelted, and has a good hood. But the best part is the pockets. It has two zippered pockets on the outside, two zippered pockets on the inside, and even a large net pocket inside for an umbrella.
It means you can carry your phone in one pocket, your keys in another pocket so you don’t scratch your phone, and your wallet, credit cards, cash etc. in the inside pockets. Another good thing about it is the loose fitting design allows you to wear layers, or even a light down coat underneath it in colder weather.
Another company that sells some decent outdoor coats is Cabela’s. I have read that in recent years they have outsourced to the extent the product quality has tanked.
But in the past, they did make some good warm coats. There are still some quality Cabela coats floating around in the second hand market that are very warm, Gore-Tex, and still waterproof.
I noticed they have new women’s parkas listed on their website that range between $450-$800. Interesting to note, the more expensive one is nylon with goose down, not Gore-Tex. The other Cabela coat claims to have a waterproof shell, but no Gore-Tex. It looks like their Gore-Tex days may be over. Before we know it – vintage Gore-Tex will be the rage.
Companies that continue to sell Gore-Tex coats include Arcteryx, which are Made in China and have a price range $400-$1100. Mountain Equipment Co-Op has a few ranging in price from $400 – $800.
Roxy, Marmot, L.L Bean and Patagonia are still selling Gore-Tex jackets. However in some cases, it appears the technology has changed since some are described as recycled, and others say there is a bonded membrane onto nylon. Regardless the price point for anything listed as Gore-Tex is usually over $500.
One of Canada’s most renowned luxury brand coats is Canada Goose. They sell mostly down parkas for cold and snow, but they also sell rain shells. They sell a nice looking knee length women’s rain coat for around $800. It is very lightweight. They use a registered trademark technology called Tri-Durance, which they describe as a three layer bonded hardshell fabric crafted from 52% nylon, 25% polyurethane, 20% polyester and 3% spandex.
Although I know Canada Goose makes good parkas, I am not sure about the rain coats and how they compare with Gore-Tex. One thing I do not like about Canada Goose is that some of their coats have large lettering down one arm, and all of them have logo decals sewn onto the coat.
I realize many, or even most outdoor coats have some kind of branding, but for instance the Fjallraven logo is only about an inch wide. The Arcteryx also has fairly discreet logos. I think it is a mistake for Canada Goose to place such an excessive amount of branding on a coat, especially since it is known for being a very expensive brand. It seems a bit garish or gauche to have to advertise for the company while wearing a $1200 coat.
However the brand does hold its value, even in the second hand market. If you look on Poshmark, there are many used Canada Goose coats ranging in price from $300-$1200.
As with Gore-Tex coats, a similar price increase can be seen in Gore-Tex boots. They are becoming more expensive. If they change the technology to use nylon and polyurethane, I don’t think they would be allowed to advertise it as Gore-Tex. I guess that is why many companies are using recycled Gore-Tex now, so they can still use the branding.
The reason all of this even occurred to me, is because today I went out in the snow, puddles and slush, wearing a pair of Patagonia Gore-tex boots, with the traditional Vibram sole.
They are slip resistant, and are so comfortable. I put felt insoles in them, and it is like walking in bedroom slippers, without the slip.
Because the snow is now melting (thankfully), there were many deep puddles to navigate, so I had no choice but to walk right through them. The water was almost to the top of the boot in many places, but by the time I got home, my feet and socks were still bone dry. The Patagonia Gore-Tex hiking boots are the best I have ever owned.
So if you have a Gore-Tex coat or boots that you love, hang onto them, unless you don’t want them anymore of course.
But it is pretty clear that although Gore-Tex may not be completely phased out, it will be harder to find, and much more expensive than it was in the past.
Personally I do not see how recycled Gore-Tex can be that much more environmentally friendly than regular Gore-Tex.
When I see outdoor wear like fleece jackets with promotional tag lines like “We make good use of recycled garbage” or “This jacket is made of x number of recycled plastic bottles”, it doesn’t exactly give you the warm fuzzies. Next we will be seeing $800 coats that are made out of pampers.
Then they can create a legit slogan called “Pamper Yourself – we only had to use a dozen diapers to cover your cold wet butt!”
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2024). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Many countries do have laws surrounding hallmarking of sterling silver. For instance, in the UK a law was passed in 1973 making it illegal to call items sterling silver unless they are hallmarked. In some countries, the hallmarking is overseen by a national assayer’s office.
The UK and Ireland have among the most sophisticated and long term systems surrounding the silver hallmarking. In addition to the silver purity, there is often a symbol as well.
France has also been legally hallmarking silver since the 1800’s, and have a grading system to identify the standards such as 950, 925, and 800 silver. They also use symbols, the head of Mercury, and the shape of a lozenge, which is a diamond shape, but can also be a thin rhombus shape.
In the US the assay marks were not fixed like they were in Europe. Baltimore was one of the first to implement hallmarks in the early to mid 1800’s. In the absence of specific regulations surrounding hallmarking, several companies like Tiffany & Co., Gorham, and International Silver Co., adopted their own systems of marking and symbols.
Canada does not have any mandatory laws to hallmark silver and gold. However most jewelry makers will stamp their products with the purity of the metal, as well as with maker’s initials, in order to confirm their value. There are many exceptional pieces of Aboriginal carved artisan jewelry, in silver and gold, that is made without hallmarks.
Birks is one of Canada’s earliest known companies to hallmark sterling silver starting in 1879. Some of the earlier items are marked H.B & Co. Later the mark became Birks, or a B logo, and sometimes had a lion symbol as well. Some of the items are simply marked Birks Sterling.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Hungary adopted a complex system of marking both gold and silver. They used the symbol of a crescent moon crowned by the head of the ancient Greek heroine Diana. In addition, the way the head was framed indicates the purity.
Japan adopted a symbol of the Japanese flag as a silver hallmark in 1929.
The hallmarking of Mexican sterling silver is also very complex, and dates back to 1946 when the Eagle system was used, but proved to be inefficient. By 1979 they developed a letter-number hallmarking system.
China also stamped their sterling silver for export, often with symbols similar to the European symbols. In the more modern jewelry, you will often see 925 China on the items.
India does not have mandatory laws surrounding silver hallmarks. However people can make a request to have it stamped, in which case it is taken to the assayer’s office for testing. If it meets the regulatory standards, it will then be stamped.
Pieces from Thailand will often be marked 925 Thai.
All 925 silver should be of the same quality, at least one would think so, because the purity has been established. However, different alloys are used, which can change the sheen, durability, tarnishing etc.
In spite of all the more recent developments in hallmarking, the actual stamping and marking of precious metals began as early as 1300 A.D when Edward 1 King of England proclaimed that all silver must be tested, and stamped.
During Biblical times sterling silver was represented by sheaves of wheat symbols. A shekel of silver was a coin weighing about a half an ounce. It is estimated the value would have been equivalent to two or three days labour. Silver was used the same as money, and often land was purchased with silver.
The topic of silver hallmarking, and all the various symbols is vast, with Encyclopedias of silver marks from many locations throughout the world.
My thoughts on the topic, are to stick to what is hallmarked. However, as with all things, there are a few cases where the item is sterling silver but is not marked. In the case of pendant necklaces, sometimes just the original chain is marked, and if the two get separated, the pendant might not have a hallmark.
The separation of jewelry pieces in a set can lead to unsigned pieces. This can also happen with vintage costume jewelry, because sometimes only one or two of the items in a set are signed.
The same thing can occur with earrings. Sometimes only one earring is hallmarked, therefore some of the single earrings floating around, are sterling silver, but are not stamped.
Occasionally the sterling silver mark or maker’s mark is placed on a hang tag, that later becomes lost, or is removed.
Sterling silver and gold can be tested using a slate pad, and nitric acid. The drawbacks are that the chemicals are very toxic, and must be used with great care. In addition, at the end of the day, the buyer only has the seller’s word for it anyway.
Therefore, sterling silver that is not hallmarked is likely to be sold at a lesser value, simply because whoever makes the purchase has the same problem of authenticating it, if they try to resell it.
Over time, if the price of silver happens to increase in value, there will be a melt value for all that tests positive, similar to what it is for gold today.
But for now, most of the silver value is in the workmanship, artistry, and gemstones used by the various silversmiths over the years.
Like all things that are vintage and antique, the artistry of the silversmiths from throughout the world, is of cultural and historical importance. Therefore to see all that labour, artistry, and archival representation of their creations, go into a melting pot, would be kind of sad.
As far as dating jewelry is concerned, there is some good information on the Internet to help with this, and also some information that is false or mistaken.
Recently I read that the roll over clasp on pins was not used before the 1960’s, which I know is is not true. There are certain rollover clasp styles that were used on pins, and brooches since the late 1920’s and 1930’s.
Over time, many people have had the attitude to toss what is old, and go for what is new, and presumed to be improved. However, creativity is not new.
Plus the cost of labour, and materials, has increased exponentially in all countries over the years. Therefore, the new is not made with the same standards, time, attention to detail, etc. because anything that is labour intensive, will cost much more.
In addition, all products must go through several layers of mark-ups before reaching the consumer. There are price increases from the manufacturing and materials, to the distribution and marketing.
All the steps incurred to get the product in front of the consumer, or public, requires time and money. Therefore each of those steps increases the cost of the goods.
If we are honest with ourselves, few things are truly original. Almost all designs have been made in some capacity or another, somewhere along the line. Innovation is a rather elusive concept. Things have to be captured and nailed down, in order to become tangible.
I believe the photography does help contribute to the knowledge base of design and hallmarks, even though it may not be perfect.
In addition, many of the designs, although trendy at some point in history, were lost or destroyed due to the various wars, disasters, breakage, and concept of getting rid of things that are old, to bring on the new.
Yet we are always traversing the richness of the landscape, from what is behind us, to what is ahead of us…So we have to learn from the past, in order to increase our appreciation for all art.
It is not just the famous, or the high falutin’ well-known artists who have created beautiful art. Art comes from all locations, and all walks of life.
Giftedness is not based on fame or self importance, but rather on dedication, and the ability to contribute time and effort to a labour of love.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The Arts & Crafts movement emerged in England in the late 1800’s as a form of resistance to the mass production of lesser quality products, due to the first industrial revolution. The movement was preceded by the writings of influential writers, designers, and art critics.
Art critic John Ruskin, and his many followers, were convinced that the rapid advancement of industrialization had adverse effects on society and the arts in general. He believed it alienated labour, was dehumanizing, and created a gulf between the designer and the manufacturer.
They also believed this caused a widespread reduction of quality of workmanship, and artistic achievement. As a result of the writings, and influential followers of this movement, they advocated to unite all the arts within the decoration of the home especially, with an emphasis on nature, quality of workmanship, and simplicity of form.
By the early 1900’s the movement had spread to the US, and took on a life of its own. It was not as pervasive as it was in Britain, however the British influence was promoted for awhile throughout the US, but did not develop the full scope of socialist underpinnings. They focused on furnishings, pottery, metalwork, woodwork, and bookbinding.
In the US urban areas, the socialist aspect of the experimentation was geared toward offering young women education in craftwork and simplicity, as it applied to various decorative works. Quality of design was the cornerstone. By 1908 Paul Revere pottery in Boston was offering women the opportunity to earn a good wage in the community.
Newcomb pottery in New Orleans was part of an educational advancement for women using local flora and fauna as inspiration for designs in pottery, metalwork, textiles and jewelry. When it came to jewelry, natural stones were chosen carefully for their unique features, and were noted for promoting “truth to materials”.
Soon these creative entrepreneurs were teaching china painting, and one well known artisan Marie Zimmerman, began to expand, and take inspirations from foreign cultures abroad, such as Greece and Asia. The movement diversified into silversmiths, and many other handmade items.
Roseville pottery was introduced in Ohio around 1890. They made a wide range of pottery designs between 1904 until their closure in 1954. This pottery surpassed the Arts & Crafts movement, as it carried on for thirty years after the Arts & Crafts movement died down in the 1920’s.
To summarize the progression of things, and why it is applicable in today’s world: The first industrial revolution began in 1784 with steam, water, and mechanical production equipment.
The second industrial revolution began in 1870, with the division of labour, electricity and a trend toward mass production (which in turn, led to the Arts & Craft movement).
The third industrial revolution is said to have begun in 1969, with electronics, IT, and automated production.
That brings us to the introduction of the fourth industrial revolution, which is promoted extensively by the World Economic Forum.
This is a fluid concept, and is far less tangible than the previous industrial revolutions. It is very much tied to AI, robotics, connectivity through mobile devices, digital technology, knowledge, and rapid advancement in all these areas. It fuels changes to the various global systems; from business, to manufacturing, to banking, to the labour market, and to governance.
There is no historical precedent, and apparently it is developing exponentially, therefore unlike the steam train, and the Arts & Crafts movement, there is no linear pathway, to track this development.
Although technological advancement has many advantages, it also disrupts the various labour markets. The changes are rapid, growing in multiple directions, and geared toward the restructuring of all systems on a global level. What could possibly go wrong?
When the Arts & Crafts movement began, its grassroots concepts were founded, and developed within the context of the social anxieties caused by rapid industrialization.
The current fourth industrial revolution, by their own WEF admission, is a rampant development. This in turn leads to social anxiety.
Therefore, I think it is entirely possible that people will gravitate toward what is tangible, what is utilitarian, and what things worked in the past to develop labour markets, diversity and trade. These are the simpler things in life, and much easier to grasp hold of.
As a tongue in cheek metaphor on the need for a resurgence of some of the past concepts, to help quell the anxieties resulting from rapid mass industrialization, maybe we need to slow down.
If we turn toward something we can take hold of, and pour out, in a more relaxed, and tangible manner, we can look back, and realize our ancestors also went through rapid industrialization. It caused them to take a step back, and reevaluate, from a more philosophical point of view.
The following simple Roseville pottery jug from the early 20th century, has a form, and function, that can remind us about tangible things, in order to keep us grounded during tumultuous times of rapid change.
We can appreciate technology, but you cannot get a glass of iced tea out of AI or ChatGPT, to cool your senses in a heat wave.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ― George Orwell.
This is a true statement, and will hold its’ truth for all things, both good and bad, material and non-material, for all time; and for the immaterial, for all eternity. Orwell had a deeper understanding than most people do.
How many times have we heard how devastating it is for certain cultures of people, to deny what happened to them? The denial is considered to be as bad as the original abuse. It has been widely recognized that denial of historical abuse and persecution, is a re-victimization.
Gaslighting has been recognized as a crime in Canada, and many other countries.
All cultures and all families have a mixture of good and evil. But few things are more evil than denying the truth of a person’s history and identity.
If someone can take over another person’s history and identity, they can gaslight, undermine, shame, and basically destroy that person’s soul. They attack your memories, your perceptions, deny what you have experienced, attacking your thoughts, your intellect, your free will, your whole mind, your spirit, your feelings, your mother, your identity, and your basic familial origins.
They will attempt to pull you out of the ground, roots and all. They want you to be a seed that never got planted. But since you do exist, if they cannot yank you out, they will use round-up on you.
Then they can cluck their tongues in feigned pity, and claim you are mentally ill or emotionally disturbed, when they are the ones perpetuating the delusion. How many times do you hear the pious say, “Oh, the poor thing”. Right. You are nothing but a “thing” to them. And lowly as you are to them, they are paradoxically obsessed with you. They are vastly superior, so they cannot see too clearly, from their lofty height. So they make assumptions based on what they want, even though it is your life. They will exploit you until there is nothing left but a shell, and they could care less.
Most of us know that bullies target the weakest, and the most vulnerable members of society, whether it is a within a family, a community, a school, or a certain group of people within a country.
In addition, it is human nature to side with a bully, if he is the one who has the most power, influence and money. Therefore, the weaker individual is easily, and consistently ganged up on, often with nowhere to turn, as part of the plot is to remove all support systems. They turn you into an outcast, and then blame you for being an outcast. The cognitive dissonance is beyond bizarre. The bully is constantly blaming the victim for what he is doing to them.
They want you isolated and alone. This dynamic and pattern is well known. It happens in domestic violence situations. It happens with cults. It occurs whenever there is coercive control. The weaker person becomes the scapegoat for all that is wrong in the life of the more powerful individual. It is a grandiose form of projection. They project all of their own faults onto the victim. They instruct and influence others to do the same.
At the core, it is a deceptive and unfair malicious plot. The victim is dehumanized, and is therefore an easy target. No matter what you try to do, it fails. If you fight back, you get punished more, and accused of being the cause of all conflict.
If you go to authorities, you risk getting punished more, without any validation given by the authorities. The more of a threat you are, the bigger the risk you take. The more powerful the aggressor, the less likely the authorities will pay attention. Intimidation has a very wide rippling effect.
If you plead, beg, and show irrefutable proof, to try and convince the powerful one, and their followers, that you did nothing to deserve this treatment, it falls on deaf ears. They will gaslight you into doubting your own sanity. In fact, they will outright claim you are insane, with nothing to base such an accusation on.
You are in a no win situation, locked in for life. Truth does not matter to those who do such things. In fact, it is of utmost importance to keep up the facade. The only way you can avoid more bullying attacks, is through compliance.
They are punishing and shaming me for who I am. It is kind of like kicking the dog because it is not a cat. They tried to force me to deny who I am, and the family I was born into. It was very painful to have to endure such a plot.
But keeping up the facade, also has dire and soul destroying consequences. It gets to the point where you can no longer do it. The lifeblood has been sucked right out of you, and it is a matter of survival to get out from under it. The oppression is stifling. You cannot crawl or claw your way free of it.
There can be no substitute for truth. The denial of truth leads to strong delusion. The denial of truth exacerbates the original wrongdoing. The denial of truth leads to secrecy, escapism, depression, hopelessness, ongoing intergenerational abuse, toxicity, and very dark places. It is a spiritual death trap.
All of history, both in the Bible, and in the secular world, there is documentation that tracks lineage and the genealogy of all people, and all cultures of people. No one can excise, eliminate, or alter the history of another human being without consequences. In fact, even in the absence of written documentation, it is coded into our DNA.
Material things from the past are only relevant in what they represent, as far as what humans have done, contributed, discarded, or left behind. These are the remnants of our past.
The material landscape has created heaps in landfills. But we have long since past the point where things like fast fashion, fast food, fast money, and material things without value, have been known to be growing exponentially. Maybe it is time to put the brakes on.
Meanwhile the things that do have lasting value, with painstaking attention to detail, got discarded along the way.
Now it is the past things, not the rapidly churned out Material Girl type stuff promoted by garish celebrities like Madonna, that hold their value, or increase in value.
China, and various others, whose only motive was profit, just add mountains of debris to the landfills. They also add to the desire to throw away the old, for the newer shinier object at the local Walmart.
The new twenty first century culture is one of disposable products, all designed to create and sell more disposable products. This is the great enigma, and a massive contradiction, when simultaneously the world is also steeped in fears about fossil fuels.
Whereas historically, there was pride taken in the quality of craftsmanship, and in taking care of things, because there was time, resources, materials, artistry, and cost associated with the creation of those items.
In creating a portfolio of twentieth century design, my hope is to draw attention to the true value of some of the things from the past.
Of course I am open to offers on all products, but I do want to point out that many of these things will never be created again. Some of them are museum quality, and should be shared, even if only in pictures online, because they show some of the incredible artistry, of what talented people have created in the past.
I just posted a 1920’s silk ribbon dress, and shawl that must have taken well over a thousand hours to make. It is made of intricately wound silk ribbon on net, with every bit of it hand stitched into an elaborate design. It also has a shawl with a hand knotted fringe. How can one price such a dress? There is not another one like it in existence. It is a hundred years old, painstakingly hand crafted, with subtle beaded accents throughout. I have to take some more pictures of it with a larger frame camera, but for now, here it is so you know what I am referring to:
In my opinion the twentieth century of design is the last hurrah. I do not think there will be a twenty first century of design, and if there is, it is certainly nowhere near the quality that came from the twentieth century.
Our history and culture is important in all facets. We will take nothing material with us when we leave this world, and nor will we take any money with us.
We are here to be stewards of material things for awhile, to acknowledge the contributions, the good, and the quality of craftsmanship brought to us from different cultures. Some things belong in the landfill. Other things should be taken care of, and saved until they are passed on to another generation.
Our journey and time here is made up of our history, our family, our experiences, and the work we do. We are not saved by works, but nevertheless we have to work to provide for our family, ourselves, and to not be a burden to others, if we can help it.
Even when there is a deliberate attempt to rob us of who we are, and where we came from, nothing can take away our God given identity.
Unfortunately, I got saddled with a bullying and cultish high school teacher who brazenly claimed ownership of who I am. He infiltrated every facet of my life. He was so delusional, he repeatedly told people I was his daughter. He bullied and threatened me into silence. I barely knew the guy, so it was beyond absurd. But he kept on lying, and would not go away. So the problem morphed into the lies of a lifetime. Like a plague.
We are supposed to do good. We are supposed to love God, honour our mother and father, and love our neighbour as ourself. We are even supposed to love our enemies.
Truthfully, I looked just like our mother, and was the apple of her eye. Her name was Joy. Our Swedish grandmother called me Little Joy. They came to Canada from a farm in northern Sweden. Three of their six children were born in Sweden, and three were born in Canada. Our mother was very creative, and loved to sew. These are basic truths that were stifled and bullied out of me for many many years.
As far as material things are concerned, because of our mother, I developed a love for textiles early in life. I know it’s true that we do not store up material goods for any real purpose, other than temporary stewardship. I love hand embroidery, and brilliant silk fabrics, and fancy glass buttons.
The matters of our hearts, our minds, our love, our relationships, are far more important than material things.
There are those who will try to rob us of what is most valuable, because they know how to cause deep rooted emotional abuse, that is destructive to our spirit and soul.
They seek to deny and destroy our identity and history, thereby obliterating our future. They seek to destroy our relationships, especially to Christ, because for Christians our true identity is in Christ. We are adopted into the family of God.
They seek to break up our family life, and will place themselves at the helm, when they have no business even being there in the first place. They have no boundaries. They have skin thicker than a reptile, and unblinking stares.
The devil tries to take away our identity and history, because the goal is to claim and destroy souls. True evil does not just rob material things, but rather it seeks to destroy our origins, because if we are cut off from our history, it is like breaking a link in a chain. What good can it do if it is broken? What can it haul? What can itcarry forward?
The enemy, our adversary is the one who attacks and tries to re-create our history. They attack our minds, will and emotions. They do not accept a single boundary or take no for an answer. They lie through their wolf-like teeth. They stare as though their subject is nothing but a bug under a microscope.
They close off all escape routes. They are master manipulators. They influence others to lie, deny and gaslight. And once they have them in their corner, they too must go along with it all.
There are many websites now that talk about scapegoating, denial, and abuse. When people go along with a more powerful master manipulator, the term given to them in these videos, is called “flying monkeys”.
It is kind of a pejorative term, and it is easier to forgive the flying monkeys, because they are either deceived, or they are in the mode of self preservation.
Although we have no power over those who do choose to deny the truth of the past, and who try to give us over to evil forces, in order to obliterate our history and destroy us, we do have a helper.
By the grace of God, and the belief in Christ, we are plucked out of the fowler’s snare. We cannot do it on our own. We flounder hopelessly. I know, because it happened to me.
Of all the things we are supposed to do, we are supposed to forgive and repent. And it does set us free. We all need forgiveness, and none of us has the ultimate power of forgiveness. We can only forgive the trespasses against us, because we know that we too, have trespassed against others many times.
The power of forgiveness comes through Christ. There is no other way. Regardless of the historical abuses a person has suffered, there will be a day of accountability. Therefore, like John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, we all need to repent – for the end of time is coming closer for all of us.
It iscoming much closer, due to the calamities the world is facing, along with the corruption and strangeness that is being magnified in all realms.
The strong delusion and deception is staggering, and I don’t think anyone will know the true extent of it until the end. For some it will be the bitter end, and for others it will be a glorious new beginning.
So if the end, is the end of this world as we know it, and we are still alive, we will go through it, and are called upon to endure it. If we die before the end of the world, we will still be raised to a new beginning, IF we know Christ.
God knows every single person, in every generation since the beginning of time. If you read the Bible, the people are named, and the lineage is of utmost importance, as they go from one generation to another.
No one gets plucked out of their lineage, no matter what another person tries to do to them, or how much they lie, or try to deny who they are.
As children of Adam and Eve, Cain was jealous of his sibling, and killed his brother Abel. It did not go unnoticed. Cain did not obliterate his brother either, like he had planned to. God immediately knew what he had done, and why he had done it, and actually told Cain that his brother’s blood had cried out to Him from the ground. Cain could not lie his way out of what he had done.
No one can lie their way out of what they have done – yet how many foolish people continue to lie and deceive?
Joseph’s siblings hated him, and threw him into a pit, then sold him into slavery. Years later, they came begging to him for food, not even realizing who he was.
Moses was adopted as a baby, yet he denounced that adoption, and returned to his homeland to free his people.
God knows the end from the beginning, and the beginning from the end. He knows what is, what was, and what is to come. Therefore, anyone who messes with, and tries to rob the identity of another person through lying and deceit, is going to be facing the real truth one day.
One of the biggest warnings we have, is to embrace the truth. Delusion happens to those who refuse to embrace the truth. The eternal hardship brought about by such delusion, is beyond our human comprehension.
Seek truth. Don’t deny it. It will prevent us from falling into the abyss. It is a profound and eternal reality. The truth does set us free.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
When I embarked on putting this website together more than ten years ago, it was to photo document, set up an online store, and get a large collection of mostly vintage established and archived online.
Initially some of the online research I did, claimed an antique was anything that was at least seventy five years old. It seemed the consensus then, was about 50:50 between the definition of antique being seventy five, or a hundred years. But now, almost all sites refer to antique jewelry as being a hundred years old, or older.
As time has gone by, I have noticed fewer sites go with the seventy five year claim, and most adhere to the standard hundred years.
So because there was a discrepancy in definition, I was going with the seventy five years. But I have decided to go with the more prevalent standard of one hundred years.
Therefore all the 1930’s and 1940’s jewelry with the antique word in the title, will be removed. If something straddles the age span between 1920’s and 1930’s, I will still call it an antique in certain cases.
My apologies, if as a customer or browser, you saw things dated 1940’s described as antique. The 1940’s items are certainly approaching their “golden years” of being a hundred years old, because they are now eighty-three years old. But they still do not meet the criteria.
In some cases, especially when it comes to antique beads, the age is very difficult to pin down. Antique beads have been carried from place to place for hundreds, if not thousands of years. To make it even more complicated, often jewelry maker’s use a mix of collectible beads from different eras.
As time goes on, I realize nothing is created equally, when it comes to jewelry. Sometimes expensive coloured gemstones are put into brass settings. Some of the valuable antique beads are strung with wood, or other cheaper beads. And most of all, not all glass is created equally. Some glass is more valuable than some gemstones.
Organic materials can also be difficult to date. Obviously amber is very old. But the jewelry setting it is put into could be mid century, or any age. So one has to juggle the definitions around the materials, a mix of materials, as well as the time of the creation of the piece. The clasps, pins, and hooks, help to date the older pieces as for as when they were made.
With vintage costume jewelry, it is easier to date, because of the different signatures, and use of the copyright symbol. Typically the copyright symbol was added to jewelry after 1955.
Also patent numbers can help to date items. In addition, the rise and popularity of authentic vintage costume jewelry happened between the late twenties, and for many of those companies, they lasted into the seventies. Therefore most of those pieces fall into the mid-century range.
As I gain more experience, I am getting better at identifying the old, from the really old. Also after so many years of collecting, there are many ways to differentiate the old from the new materials. Of course most of what is in the second hand market now is 1990’s and newer, with a few old things in the mix.
As I continue to go through the collection this summer to measure, describe, and make corrections, the antique titles will be changed to reflect the hundred year range, as opposed to seventy five years.
What has driven prices up in vintage costume jewelry? Even though there are still sites selling vintage costume jewelry at low prices, the price for certain designers, and one of a kind pieces, has really gone up in recent years.
This is especially true of jelly belly, fruit salad, Swarovski crystals, Austrian glass, and figural items, like birds with elaborate detailing and enamelling.
I think the main point is, that many of the creators of vintage costume jewelry used labour intensive techniques, and high quality materials, many of which are now obsolete or cost prohibitive, is the major reason.
Another reason, is how unique and elaborate some of the pieces are, which can never be replicated today. Probably the central reason, is that these items were not mass produced, and were made during a time when quality, and attention to detail, became the stamp of the maker or creator.
Another contributing factor, is the passage of time. In recent decades, with the rise of fast fashion and mass produced cheap jewelry made in China, we exhausted the rapid turnover, and the shine wore off those items, as quickly as they were created.
Now we are in a different era, and the vintage items of high quality, with hard to find materials and exceptional craftsmanship, are moving from being trendy vintage, to being sought after antiques.
Many of the master craftsman of the high quality costume jewelry era during the forties and fifties, had their beginnings in the creation of fine jewelry using real gold, pearls, sapphires and diamonds. They then used their expertise to create fine costume jewelry to emulate the real thing. A high percentage of them apprenticed under companies like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.
In addition to the long cherished glass making and jewelry techniques with origins in Europe, New York, and Montreal, they all buckled down and created fascinating high quality jewelry during the early to mid-twentieth century. It was like a boom time for creativity and craftsmanship.
The expertise and techniques in glass making actually created gemstone quality jewelry. The nacre and hand knotting of faux pearls created replicas that require a lab, and a hundred thousand dollar X-Ray machine to differentiate the real from the faux pearls.
In the case of coloured gemstones, all of the easy to access gemstones have already been mined, or collected. It is one thing to collect rocks, as well as shells. I can see why there is a fascination with the original, and raw forms of the beautiful things people find in nature.
But in addition to the materials, when it comes to jewelry making, there is a creative process, from the choice of materials, to the design, and most of all to the craftsmanship.
It has taken many years, and I will readily admit to not knowing even a small percentage of the range of jewelry craftsmanship. It would take a lifetime to learn to identify all the different types of glass and gemstones used. And even if you managed that, there are still materials made of fossilized wood, tree resins, bone, ivory, plastics, vulcanite, oak bog, enamels, and tortoise shells. Even lizard skin was used in jewelry in the past.
If it could be crafted into jewelry, it was done. Often the focus was on organic materials one could collect on beaches, in the forest, or places with an abundant supply and variety of rocks and fossils.
Everything from seeds, to nuts, coconut shells, shark’s teeth, claws, and even human hair, was used at some time or another to craft into jewelry. Such is our inclination toward creativity and personal adornment.
In many cases things are treated, dyed, and made to look like a certain stone. Turquoise is one of the most frequently altered coloured gemstones of all.
As with all things, the real special items do show their grandiosity. It shows when you examine an item closely. It shows in the way it feels, in the way it reflects and illuminates light from within, and mostly it shows in the craftsmanship involved. The human element is what makes the item what it is, and the more labour intensive, the more valuable.
For example, the micro mosaic glass jewelry that was popular in Italy and Venice in the early 20th century is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to the precision and intricacy involved. In some of the richer examples, they used real gemstones. But more often, they used tiny bits of brightly coloured glass, and arranged them into flowers, borders, and scrolling, with impeccable placement and craftsmanship. Often each bit of glass was just a couple of millimetres in size, so to place them into such intricate patterns, is something to marvel at.
In later years, the micro mosaic pieces became much smaller, and with less detail. They were very popular tourist keepsakes for those travelling to Italy and Venice.
As time goes on, especially if people do not have the inclination, the resources, or the expertise to make these beautiful works of art, the number of available pieces becomes less and less, and new creations are not being made. That is what drives up the price.
How often do you see elaborate three or four strand necklaces made of poured glass, blown glass, or hand decorated glass in the modern stores? What we see in modern jewelry might be a few Swarovski crystals, or a single tourmaline stone. But we do not see the shimmering abundance, or time and workmanship that went into creating the 1950’s art glass, and elaborate coloured gemstone jewelry. The modern day glass jewelry often has haphazardly glued glass stones. You do not see three and four strand art glass necklaces in contemporary jewelry.
The new jewelry with coloured gemstones set into sterling silver are now small, compared to what they used to be. However in the vintage and antique pieces, often the gemstones are very large and striking. The gem is framed in, and showcased with all of its natural splendour. It is not a tiny fragment of sparkle, or colour, like we see in newer items. Even the high end stores are now selling jewelry with stones you can barely see.
In the case of gemstones and master craftsmanship in sterling silver, there is probably no greater example of creativity than what has come out of Mexico. Twenty years or so ago, I picked up a collection of 1940’s Taxco jewelry with around twenty pieces or so. It has given me a real appreciation for Mexican sterling silver jewelry.
Whether the price of sterling goes up much or not, one cannot under estimate the value of the workmanship, and the gemstones used by people that clearly have an eye for design, as well as a rich history of passing on the art of silversmiths.
We cannot be dismissive of sterling silver, because since Biblical times, it has had value, and at one time, was even considered to be more valuable than gold. In the Bible, Jacob’s well was purchased with a hundred pieces of sterling silver.
On a much more sombre note, we also know the life of Christ was sold for thirty pieces of silver. It goes to show how much silver was valued, and used no different than money is used to betray people.
The silver to gold ratios have fluctuated wildly throughout history, and although there are many predictions about it all, it seems plausible that there is a huge adjustment in those ratios on the horizon.
Throughout history, from ancient times, and during the Roman Empire, the silver to gold ratio ranged from 8:1 to 15:1. In recent years it has been as much as 114:1.
Currently it is around 83:1. Could it go back to the historical average of 15:1? It certainly seems possible, as precious metals and gemstones etc. often do see corrections in price when they have been undervalued.
Silver is still silver, always has been, and always will be. It has not changed. Only the manmade influences, banking and investment industry, and supply and demand, have caused it to change. The manmade influences are volatile, especially during times of inflation, and rapid global changes, as we have seen in the post covid era. Time will tell.
Also during ancient times, many coloured gemstones, like amethysts, had more value than diamonds.
We really cannot predict the future value of silver, gold, and gemstones. But we can learn to recognize the value coming from countries, and companies who carried forth expertise and master craftsmanship in jewelry making.
They did not spend a hundred hours or more making one piece of jewelry, and use junky materials that they themselves did not appreciate. If they had an eye for detail, and the ability of a master craftsman, they knew more than most of us about the materials they were using.
Not only is there the cost of materials, metals, gemstones, crystals etc. but if you consider that one item might have taken twelve to fifty hours or more to make, it really helps put things into perspective with regards to the rising cost.
For example thirty hours of work by a master craftsman today at just above minimum wage, would be labour costs of $600.00 alone. Of course the master craftsperson’s work is worth more than minimum wage, and also requires many special tools and equipment. So when you add all the materials, the antiquity, and the fact that all the major mid-century designers like Sherman, are long gone, it is understandable we are seeing an increase in value.
On the upside, the more the value increases, the greater the appreciation, and the more likely these remnants of our past will be taken care of.
The time and expense that goes into collecting, researching, and photo documenting a vintage collection is a daunting task. I can give my own personal testimony on what is involved, and the thousands of hours it has taken to reach this point.
I do believe that by taking the best of the past, and documenting it to the best of my ability, it serves to showcase part of our rich and diverse cultural heritage, and in the long term, is worthwhile.
It helps to educate, show a range of design, and bring historical perspective to things that will never again be made to the same degree of creativity and finesse.
In the coming months I will be using a USB microscope and camera to capture some of the finer details that cannot be seen with a loupe, macro lens or the naked eye. This is especially important to show off features in amber, and other gemstones, so people can see for themselves what it is.
I have noticed that with a Nikon camera, and a macro Nikon lens, it helps to rule out junk jewelry. It quickly shows stones that are haphazardly glued into place, as well as cheap metals prone to pitting. it shows where gold plating as worn off. Junk is not exactly photogenic.
In addition to the long lasting value in precious metals like silver and gold, there are also many vintage metals with exceptional coatings and rhodium plating that do not wear off. The more closely one can examine an item, the better prepared they are to choose something with lasting value. The one exception is with oxidized silver. The oxidation or patina can be cleaned, and does not detract from the value.
Although I do clean jewelry with caution, and sometimes not at all, depending on the piece, because I think detergents and warm water can affect the coating, the surface or cause rust. In many cases a fine sable makeup brush will clean out the dust. One cannot be a total perfectionist, and clean every nook and cranny with a q-tip before doing the photography.
When an item sells, I do go over it and do more cleaning if it is needed.
The entire photo documenting project also leaves some sparkling examples of things with long lasting value for future generations to study and appreciate. From an educational perspective alone, it has lasting value.
I have been working on measuring, and increasing the navigation menus on the jewelry collection to make it easier for browsers and buyers. The jewelry collection is now approaching 3000 items, so it will take all summer to get through it all. I am not quite halfway through, so the work in progress is ongoing!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This image is depicting what I believe to be Mary Magdalene preparing to wash the feet of Jesus. It is not associated with any particular religious domination, other than being representative of the early Christian practice of washing feet. From a practical perspective, during Christ’s time here, they walked long distances and wore sandals, therefore their feet would be dusty after a journey.
In this image, you can also see the man who is standing, holding a basin under his chin, and appears to be washing his beard. The details in this imagery are etched using some type of fine tool, giving the appearance of penciling. It is truly a balanced, inspired, and detailed work of art.
From a symbolic perspective of servitude, foot washing depicts the act of humbling oneself to serve others. To paraphrase what I have learned about Mary Magdalene: In this scene you can see the woman holding up a small flask with anointing oils. In Biblical stories Mary Magdalene is the woman who became a devout follower of Christ. Prior to that, she had great resentment toward her husband, who had divorced her for another woman.
She lost a significant dowry because women were not permitted to own land. Apparently her father was at one time a wealthy landowner. Her husband may have married her for the dowry, as he did not come from a background like hers. This particular information is not described in the Bible, but rather extrapolated from different historical documentaries. There is credibility to the history because her family name Magdalene is similar to the village where she was born called Magdala.
After her husband divorced her, she was angry and rebellious. Rather than live in poverty, as a young beautiful woman, she became the mistress of various rich and powerful Roman generals. One of them, or perhaps more than one of them mistreated her, beat her, and then discarded her. As a result, she became even more embittered toward men. She is the woman described in the Bible as having seven demons that were cast out by Christ.
The final Roman general she was with, was smitten with her, and took revenge on her ex-husband by attacking and burning the village of Magdala, which is where she grew up. After that she realized the error of her bitterness and lifestyle. She is the woman who went to Jesus in front of many witnesses, and begged for forgiveness, washing his feet with her tears, then drying them with her hair, and applying essential oils.
Mary Magdalene has been the focus of much speculation, and fictional heresies such as were written about in the book the Da Vinci Code. However, what is known is that she became a follower of Christ, and grew up near the Sea of Galilee.
She spent time with Christ and His disciples, and stood at the cross during His crucifixion, mourning alongside His mother and aunt. She was also the first to see Him when he rose from the dead, and ran back to tell the rest of the disciples. Little is known about her following the death and resurrection of Christ.
The entire plate is hand wrought with all the open work, and copper edging done by hand. The raised image portion in the middle is meticulously hand etched in every detail. It measures 11.5″ in diameter. It has been wiped with a cloth, but I did not want to risk using any chemicals on it. It has no artist signatures or markings.
The following is another link to the origin and methodology of hand wrought repousse work on metal.
Since I have had the lengthy and painful experience of cult indoctrination by a high school teacher who attached himself to me for life, through collusion with a member of my own family, this educational video is very accurate.
I did not join a cult. I was targeted by a high school teacher in a public school, and forcibly indoctrinated and thought reformed. I was trapped and ensnared without realizing the extent of the exploitation and scheme involved. The teacher was steeped in the Exclusive Brethren religion, and seemed to think that made him into some kind of god.
As time has gone on, especially since freeing myself of the forced association, I have realized all the complex, manipulative, deceptive and destructive tactics that were used to force compliance and subservience.
This educational video should be made widely available, as it covers the range and depth of cult practices. They know exactly what they are doing. We would be wise to learn about those tactics, so we are better equipped to protect ourselves, and less afraid to report it to authorities at the onset.
I recognize so many of the tactics in hindsight. The infiltration of family. The over taking of identity, and attempts to force a name change. The constant repetition of blatant lies. The ganging up on, and “us against them” mentality. The constant demands to “keep me busy”. The constant derision, and accusations towards our mother.
The supreme arrogance and elitism, where you are expected to obey and comply because they know what is best for you. The dehumanizing aspects of being treated as a non person without the right to say no. The threats and ominous implications, if you ever even think about getting free of it. If so, I would be rejected by my own family, and God, and cast into outer darkness until I came to my senses. I would be hunted down, as he often said, like the true wolf he is. The gaslighting, and constantly making you doubt your own judgement, feel guilty, bad, unworthy, and wicked, followed by the demands for gratitude. Like this cult mentality was the one and only saviour and rescuer…
He had such hatred for our mother, yet he did not even know her. I was not sure if he had ever met her. She certainly did not know him, other than to call him a lying screwball. The teacher would tell me how much it hurt him and his equally cultish wife, if I even thought of “that wicked woman” as my mother. It grieved them deeply, as she was not redeemable according to them, and I was guilt tripped for daring to think my own mother was my mother. She was my mother. it was a fact, and I should not have been shamed over it by this masquerading religious zealot.
We only have one mother, and the cult teacher’s wife was most certainly not my mother. These people were only slightly more than a decade older than me. I was sixteen at the time. How did they miraculously give birth to one of his students? Yet I was supposed to consider their hurt feelings and deny that my mother was my mother. How absurd. They would feign pain and hurt feelings, like acknowledging my mother as my mother was a cardinal sin. Our mother was alive, and she was lucid right up until she died in 2007. This cult assault was not only one me, it was very much an assault and punishment on our mother as well. I was the apple of her eye, and looked just like her. In fact, from the time I can remember, I was told that I was the spitting image of her. Our Swedish grandmother nicknamed me “Little Joy” when I was just a toddler.
Another one of the teacher’s common themes he constantly repeated was that I had the exact same IQ as his wife. When I would ask, “how is that even possible?” He would puff himself up and repeat it with emphasis saying it was “the EXACT SAME” daring me to defy his teacher authority, long after I left high school. He was staring me down and repeating this lie when I was thirty-five years old.
His wife never skipped any grades, and did not excel in any way. She was boring as can be, but she loved the claim of having the exact same IQ as me. I found it incomprehensible that these people would not even allow me to have my own IQ. If I became distressed over it all, they would claim I was “emotionally disturbed” or “mentally ill”. So the circus continued, round and round. I knew they would be at every family function, so how could I tell them to pound sand? Go away. Leave me alone. They would not listen to me. He was in collusion with my own family. Such was the trap I found myself in.
Plus the family member who set this up with the teacher is very powerful with tremendous influence, which increased exponentially over the years. I was ganged up on, not only by the teacher, the family, but the community, the school, and extended family as well. No one could kick this teacher to the curb. He was the all consuming god over my life.
They try to lock you in for life with no escape route. The professor in the link below describes the cult leader as being charismatic in his coercion. In my case the teacher was not charismatic, but was authoritarian, domineering, andthreatening. He could not have coerced or forced me otherwise, because my intuition did recognize the deception and contradictions. He most certainly did not have a charismatic personality. Quite the opposite in fact. I did argue with him, and try to reason with him many times. But I had no voice.
I said no, but he would not take no for an answer. He repeatedly kept me up all night with brainwashing torture. My younger brother had just been killed in a car accident. I was completely and totally exhausted, trying to get through grade twelve, so I could get out of town. Each time I thought I might escape him, I was dead wrong. I had no idea the extent of collusion and scheming that was going on behind my back.
When I became determined, and tried to assert myself, I got ganged up on even more. In addition to being accused of being mentally ill, I was the biggest trouble maker, the cause of all conflict, and wicked like our mother. I was blamed and shamed with nowhere to turn.
I ended up putting up with this coercive relationship for years, just so I could be a member of my own family. I hoped and prayed they would just drop it and let me go. I hoped they would accept the truth, and go live their own lives with their own family. No one tore the teacher’s family apart. Yet he constantly infiltrated our family to the point he was the all important deity and god-father. Just the thought of that man staring at me, and telling me I am his daughter, sickens me to the core. After awhile, even though he was invited to every family function, and repeatedly invited himself into my home, I could not even stand to look at him.
But even so, I did not fully comprehend the scope of it until I got away from it all. Now I do understand the diabolical nature of the plot over my life. By the grace of God, they did not win. It was a classic example of the fowler’s snare.
When I finally did shut the door on the cult teacher, the punishment phase began, and is ongoing. But I had to escape in order to survive, so I also have to endure the punishment. The threats he made throughout my life, as to what would happen if I ever tried to escape, did come true to an extent.
But the one thing that did not come true, is that I was not rejected by God, and have not been cast into outer darkness. The difference is, I no longer serve the cult masters, and have been shown more of the truth of the gospel. It has strengthened my faith. So the term “the truth shall set you free” does apply to my own life. For that I am most thankful, as I could never have escaped the clutches of the cult mentality, abuse of power, conflict of interest, deception, and dominance otherwise.
I encourage all people to watch this informative video linked below by Margaret Thaler Singer of International Cultic Studies Association. She is a professor and educator at the University of California, Berkley.
The trend toward buying second hand goods has lost its stigmatization, and in the case of luxury brand items, the authentic brands made in France and Italy are very difficult to find anywhere else. Many of the original companies have gone out of business, or have quietly outsourced to China.
As far as eyeglass frames and vintage sunglasses, almost all are now made in China, to include Ray Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Coach, Prada, Chanel, and many others. These companies were recently purchased by Luxottica, which is made in China.
Occasionally you will see vintage sunglasses advertised as new dead stock. These websites make the claim that huge numbers of brand new designer sunglasses were found in a warehouse somewhere. If you think about it, how likely is it that a famous brand like Christian Dior or Valentino would have left a warehouse full of sunglasses in a storage room in New York City for fifty years? If it sounds implausible, it probably is. Such claims are most likely promoting and selling mass produced knock-offs.
Even though we have become used to the fact Luxottica now makes most luxury brands of eyeglasses, there is still a niche market for those who want to find the authentic brands made in the original country of origin. For eyeglass frames and sunglasses, the countries with the best reputations for both style and craftsmanship, are Japan, France, USA and Italy. You may also come across upscale brands from Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden.
Therefore the hunt for eyeglass frames made in those countries is part of the vintage niche market of hard to find authentic brands.
One of the most positive directions to help with the reuse and recycling of vintage eyewear is the fact you can now send your frames to online companies who will put the lenses of your choice into the frames. You can choose the lens, send in your prescription, and get various different coatings, including blue light filters, for a fraction of the cost. An example of such a service is called Dr. Lens Change and is located near Vancouver:
This service, as well as many other similar online lens replacement services, offers sunglass replacement lenses, as well as prescription lenses, which means those old eyeglass frames can have the lenses replaced. When this service was first introduced, they were limited to certain types of frames you could have lens replacements put into, but in recent years they have included all types of frames, to include rimless and curved.
I think the most difficult to replace are the lenses with significant curvatures, so if you have frames like that, check with them first. Dr. Lens Change claims they can replace lenses into any shape of frame. They also have an online chat, so you can ask questions if you have any concerns before sending them in.
For those who have sunglasses in designer frames they love, but need prescription lenses, or have a scratch in an old pair, you can now have those lenses replaced. They also offer non prescription replacements and transition lenses. If you wear prescription eyeglasses, you simply send them a copy of your prescription along with the frames. They also offer free shipping, and discounts if you order more than one pair.
Another interesting development in the world of technological advancement, is certain companies will now offer online eye testing, which I am not prone to promote at this stage, because a smart phone or computer simply does not have the diagnostic equipment to fully assess a person’s vision and eye health. However, I do believe they could provide a rudimentary assessment as to whether or not you do need to see an ophthalmologist.
When searching for authentic designer brands, or funky eyeglass frames from the 1950’s or 1960’s, you will not likely find them en masse on a website claiming they are new dead stock. Dead stock means they are no longer in production but remain in inventory.
All famous luxury brands are still in production, therefore it is a contradiction to claim they have massive quantities of dead stock from the mid-century era. The cost of storage alone would be a strong deterrent for any company. If they actually did store rooms full of inventory for fifty years in a major city, the storage costs would be astronomical and impractical over such a long period of time. Although I don’t know for sure what dead stock really means, I am skeptical of their claims.
As with most things vintage and niche market, you will find the unique one of a kind sunglasses and eyeglass frames through sellers who source them out one by one. When I look at eyeglass frames and sunglasses, other than condition, my number one concern is to make sure they are made in Italy, France or Japan.
I do have a pair of Graffix sunglasses, and will probably list them in the near future, even though they are made in China. They were originally made in Germany. In this case, they are an interesting steampunk design, with part tortoise and part wire frame. I do not know if it is possible to carry a wide range of interesting frames without having a few that are made in China.
I realize not all people are as fussy about avoiding the made in China labels as I am, therefore if the frames are unique, I will list the occasional pair, but will always disclose where they were made, and price them accordingly.
Eyeglass frames are fun to look at, and shop for, because they are so distinctive, like an added facial feature, and really reflect the personality and style of an individual. In fact they are so impressive they can change your overall appearance just by switching the frames. Not all current trends suit all face shapes. The wayfarer look may not suit a small face with sharp features. Some people look better in oval or round frames, and others look better in rectangular or square frames. No one should be limited by advertising trends or what’s hot at Costco. There are many more choices, if you are aware of the fact you can now have lens replacements in any style, or any age of eyeglass frames.
We all recall or know about some of the iconic looks created by certain musicians and Hollywood films. John Lennon, Men In Black, Audrey Hepburn, Top Gun, Blues Brothers, Clark Kent, and many others, created a memorable and distinctive persona depicting a certain pizzaz and personal style.
Whether you are drawn toward a sleek cool look, or a funky spirited appearance, or an understated intellectual, or nuanced and nerdy – you can find these fashion statements in the second hand market. Other than in old Hollywood movies, or on vintage album covers, you are not likely to see them everywhere you go. One definite added bonus of the vintage market, is in finding what is unique to your own face and style.
The Quiet West selection is always adding new frames, and various other vintage items. Check out the sunglasses and eyeglass frames with specs from the late 1800’s to date. You will find authentic designers from the obscure to the sublime to include Ray Ban, Oakley, Chanel, Vuarnet, Ferragamo, Thierry Mugler, Roberto Cavalli, and Celine, as well as less known exotic vintage brands like Sun Mode, May, and Matsuda.
A little bit of interesting history from the Hutchinson News in Kansas tells us about the origin of the oldest pair in the collection, Henry Zinn Jewelers & Optometrist who started making eyeglasses in 1890:
The ChatGPT is the new AI technology with a grasp on language, at least enough to string words together, and create written content. I often wonder how it will pan out in the coming years. Is it really all it is cracked up to be?
There are many reasons I would not bother with it: For starters I prefer to do my own writing, and I think it would be a hassle to ask a bunch of questions to get a computer generated response, as opposed to thinking for myself.
I do not believe AI can contribute authenticity in emotion, memory or subtle nuances of language. Although I know it would have a greater memory capacity than humans because of all the stored knowledge, I do not believe it can make the same associations within the vat of stored memory. It could not possibly have the creative capacity, or the inspiration the human mind can have. It cannot really have much in the way of motive, although it could certainly have biases, which could construct a motive in a broad sense.
It does seem likely there would be certain biased responses. Or perhaps there might be directional elements, pointing the writer to certain conclusions, or insertions. But it does not have the capacity for human experience, and therefore it cannot apply common sense in the same way humans can.
Each human being carries in their own memory a unique set of experiences in life, and in some ways there is a genetic component as well. We tend to inherit certain traits, and perhaps even ancestral memories. A computer cannot capture those elements, especially if a person has a lot of experience, as well as strong emotion to go with the experiences, because the emotive aspects give rise to inspired works.
In addition, because human beings are relational, we are all affected by the interactions with others, which in turn influences our ideas. We are also shaped by what we learn and read about throughout our lives. We gain insight about a variety of topics throughout our careers. Depending on what the career is, it could add a great deal of experience to influence our thought processes. A career creates experience, observation, relational, and advanced learning, to insert into our repertoire of things to write about.
One of the most obvious problems in my mind, is that taking away our capacity to think and write for ourselves is not good for us. People program computers, therefore a human element is behind the ChatGPT processing, and it could rob people of critical thinking skills. In other words it could become a contributor to dumbing people down, as opposed to lifting them up.
Writing is about communicating. There is no lazy person’s front for good writing. Perhaps we have a weakness in grammar or tense. Or in structuring our content. But writing is a craft, and like all crafts you don’t get better at it by finding ways to skirt around the tasks of putting it all down, trying to make sense, organizing, editing, and so on.
ChatGPT would not be able to pick up on certain comparisons, metaphors, nuances, sarcasm or humour. One of the things I enjoy most about writing, is the flashes of comparison, the poetry, and the emotional involvement. I don’t want to turn those things off, and seek a computer generated response.
Most of the topics we write about, are written about by thousands of other people. If we do not add our own individual perspective on the topic, then what is the point?
The human brain has more capacity for memory, inspiration, associations, and creativity than we give ourselves credit for. ChatGPT may take away some of the freelancer work. It may be used in Universities and other areas where a template, or a preconceived context and conceptualization is the expectation. Universities are not the best place for establishing original, or individual thought processes anyway. People must clone their thoughts, and align them with the University, in order to graduate.
Language is the fundamental basis for all human development and growth. It is the tool of propaganda, war and atrocities. It is how civilizations rise, and how they dissolve. It is how we learn, and how we communicate ideas to others.
Language is full of gradation and refinements. According to the dictionary, we have 171,146 words to draw on in the English language, in order to express ourselves. The arrangement and use of those words is up to us. Now it is also up to ChatGPT as well.
The Bible contains 783,137 words. I find it to be quite interesting to have almost five times the number of words in the Bible as there are in the dictionary. Of course the Bible does repeat many words, so unlike the dictionary, each word is not entered just once. But regardless, it does strike a note of awe surrounding the depth of learning and wisdom contained within the Bible.
Of all the writing done throughout the history of mankind, nothing could ever emulate what is written in the Bible. The complexity of the meaning in much of the imagery, the many parables, metaphor, switching between literary and figurative, changing tense, prophecies, variety of literary styles, as well as the fact there are certain mysteries no one can fully understand, makes it wholly unique. In addition there are many translations, and even in those translations, some of the literary form, and context can be lost. The Bible is far more brilliant than anyone can really even fathom.
The Bible proves to us that much of what is written by human beings can be influenced by divine inspiration, or insight. It also demonstrates that the comprehension of the words in the Bible are not only intellectual, but spiritual as well.
How can an AI ChatGPT program reach into the spiritual realm of divine inspiration and understanding? It is not to suggest any of us can compare what we write to what is in the Bible. But for those who believe, study the Bible, and have a desire to serve God, the personal and spiritual beliefs we have will depend on God’s word. We are more likely to be spiritually influenced in our minds and hearts, which in turn will determine what we write about, and how we write it.
One of the main issues for me with AI programmed writing, is the hidden source, as well as the fact it cannot contain a deeper context of the human condition or spiritual beliefs.
One thing I have noticed, especially in MSM this past few years, is how the message is crafted to steer us toward certain beliefs. Sometimes it is done with an incredible amount of complexity and deception. We have been funnelled into accepting certain belief systems, even if our common sense rails against it. We do not want to be intolerant, hateful, or judgemental. Even if we offer an opinion, it is subject to censorship. There are rapidly changing political ideologies we are expected to comply with.
A divergent opinion about political ideologies is not about hating people. It is trying to warn people about the direction things are going. We are on a slippery slope. Even more descriptive, is to realize that in some ways, we are on the precipice of a massive mudslide, a conglomerate of decaying, mucky, and acrimonious morals. They have become looser by the day, and are snowballing, with enough momentum to bury us. Our values are eroding faster than a clearcut hillside under the deluge of a forty day rainfall. The deluge is a delusion for some, and yet for the history of the world, it has already transpired. We should know better, but we don’t.
What is cloaked in compassion, such as in expanding MAID for mature minors and the mentally ill, is not really caring or concern. It is something else entirely. We are listening to some kind of opposite doublespeak normalizing what is not normal.
Language is a tool, and without a doubt it is the biggest hammer ever known to man. It can build us up, and it can beat us down. It can move things forward, or it can claw things backward. It can be used to build, and it can be used to demolish.
We are supposed to love one another. Dishonesty is not love. The way we use tools makes a big difference, as to what they turn out.
Bad language is not limited to cursing, and venomous vile rage toward others. It can be like bandits with pistols, plotting the next heist. It can be used to trap us in a corner, and play with us, like a cat does to a mouse.
And likewise loose lips can sink ships. So many people have trapped, and hung themselves with their own words. That’s why murderers, and guilty people are seldom put on the witness stand. They are fools, if they think they can talk their way out of it under cross examination. Few people have good enough memories to reiterate their own lies with accuracy.
Truth may not be desirable for some people, but it is so much easier to convey and maintain. Lies constantly change. They are a moving target. Whereas truth has the confidence to sit still. Truth does not have to hide. Lies on the other hand, seek the cover of darkness, and hope to never see the light.
Body language is a big part of written language as well. Even though many people don’t realize it, in a similar manner as reading body language in the flesh, the tone of writing can intuitively be picked up by the reader, based on what is in between the lines. The body of text does contain its own brand of body language, even if the reader has no idea what the writer even looks like.
Manipulation can be mastered, and mustered up covertly, then grow aggressively, spanning out, and spreading its influence like a poisonous invasive species does. Sometimes syrupy, and simpering words can sting like the giant hogweed we happen to brush up against, on our journey through life.
Words can be majestic, uppity, ill-defined, and arrogant enough to make the reader feel inferior. Then to avoid sounding dumb, they accept the article, or components of it, giving it high praise. They see words they seldom see, and even have to look them up, to find out what the heck they mean.
Surely it must mean the writer is brilliant. No it does not always mean the writer is a virtuoso. He or she might have a dazzling, ingenious use of words and a clever mind. Again they might not. They could just as easily use a power thesaurus as most writers do, and pick and choose the lofty and more clandestine words, instead of using plain language.
If someone uses their intelligence and writing ability to deceive, or to push a hidden agenda, people are often impressed with the exceptional vocabulary. We are more likely to believe someone who is educated and intelligent, especially if they have status and degrees. But if their motives are not good, or if they use sophisticated language as a way to sucker people into accepting nefarious ideologies, then they are worse than a moron. Far worse.
Behind all language, there is a motive. If the motive is to love one another, we will be honest, reflective, transparent, and well-meaning in our intent and use of language. Not all of our ideas will be well received, and as long as we understand our own limitations in the use of language, we should be able to expand on what we see as good. This is directly opposed to allowing what is not good to overrun our sensibilities, and obligation to use our intellect, and communication skills to help protect innocent people.
Good language is emotional, and inspired by love for others. Often those who are living an alternative lifestyle underneath the guise of acceptance, are becoming increasing marginalized, by the very forces that are promoting it all. I feel compassion for the people, especially young people, who fall victim to deceptive and life altering ideologies.
If we are honest, we can all look back at foolish decisions, fleeting ideas, angry outbursts, and a wide variety of other pitfalls. If a poor decision is made, we can recognize it and turn away from whatever caused it. People can recover from addictions, lifestyle choices, poor diet, unhealthy habits, etc.
But if decisions are irreversible such as gender change surgeries, and MAID, then the opportunity to change direction, or abandon something harmful, or any further choice in the matter is irrevocably taken away. Some decisions cannot be reversed, therefore the impact of those decisions is hefty, with an eternal rippling effect. If you talk to people, or know people who were suicidal at one time, but overcame it to lead a vibrant life, you know how temporary some emotions can be.
The same with body dysphoria. With gender change, there are many regretters, because they realize the surgery and physical changes may not be what they expected, and may not have helped how they feel about themselves. There are many types of body dysphoria, to include weight, and general appearance. If not for the fact people are insecure about themselves, the plastic surgery industry would not be thriving as much as it is.
My guess is that there is not one among us who has not embarked on a futile quest of some sort. We are far too short-sighted and limited to see what lies ahead of us. How many people seek riches to the exclusion of all else, and yet find it does not really fill the void within them?
The sea of humanity is one struggling pilgrimage, filled with illusory goals, both physical and spiritual. We don’t have all the answers as fallible human beings. Therefore it stands to reason AI programs like ChatGPT don’t have all the answers. Those algorithms are generated by equally errant human beings, who are not likely to fully connect all the dots either.
I am not anti-technology obviously, as I do spend a fair bit of time on my website, doing research, etc. I think like all tools, we use them in a way to achieve certain results, and there is nothing wrong with that. Even so, I do not bulk edit photos, or use a program to eliminate the work involved. The tools are not there to remove the work, but rather to enable it to be done, and improve the appearance. Like writing, you try to make improvements so your work is not in vain, and so you can learn in the process.
However, I sense there is a dark side to some of the components of AI. Because I have never used ChatGPT, and do not intend to use it, I cannot really say if it represents a sort of science fiction, dark emergence of technological takeover of the human mind. I think we need to protect our minds, and trust our intuition. My guess is of all things it may be lacking, it would be the least likely to have intuition. So if it really is a game of whack-a-synapse, let the intuition get there first!
Even so, one of the verses it does bring to mind is in the book of Ephesians in the Bible. Plus I do not want to turn over my thought processes to something as complex and gargantuan in scope as ChatGPT, and let it write for me. There is a work ethic involved. If something is quick and easy, it probably does not have lasting value.
Writing, like all things requiring creativity, is about patterns and arrangement. We take the word ingredients from thought formations, and organize them by design. One person may envision a landscape leading into the clouds, and another person may envision a field of wheat.
We ruminate, and come up with some kind of thought vision to describe where we are taking things, what we are mapping out, how we are going about it, and what the destiny is. The arrangement and design involving language is not just a pretty picture, it is a scope. It can be a telescope or a microscope. It can go up, down, backward, forward, left, right, and even into a spin.
As far as saying and writing things I regret, I wish I could dig a deep hole, throw them in, and turn them into compost. Like all things we do wrong, we also have to repent of the unkind, foolish, spiteful, distasteful words we have used. Then leave them behind. At least abandon the negative context in which they were used, and work towards improving our outlook. Just as we, as human beings, are constantly changing, writing is also a subset of a work in progress.
Language is limitless, and requires the least amount of real tools. Before computers, some of the greatest, and most incredible novels were drafted with nothing more than a pen and paper. The writer may have had a big leather bound dictionary sitting beside him or her, in the candle lit den.
Later it was a typewriter, and for the multitude of mistakes one makes, each sheet would have to be removed, and rewritten as many times as it took to get it right.
Now we have computers, quick access to spelling and grammar checks, as well as all the words in a thesaurus just a keystroke away. Has it turned out more brilliant writers than a hundred, or a thousand, or more years ago? I don’t think so. In fact in my opinion, all the technology might make things easier, but it does not enhance the writer’s ability. Too much technology, such as ChatGPT, might actually detract from the would be great writers of the future. Laziness is not a trait we should aim for, no matter what we are doing.
At the end of the ChatGPT line, I would be willing to bet a bit, or even predict, it has a few holes. It probably doesn’t have a wit, or even a smidgeon of humour or scorn. It can bore those poor words into oblivion.
I much prefer to just stumble along, and put the time and effort into writing my own material. To me, doing it any other way is kind of like getting up and lip syncing a song. My philosophy is; go ahead and sing it yourself, if you are going to sing it at all.
If anyone can come up with this very same article through ChatGPT – I will eat my (c)hat!
We should always be wary, and use a fair bit of caution when it comes to protecting and edifying our minds. In addition to the many verses in the Bible warning us to not be deceived, here is another one of the many verses, telling us what we wrestle against. At times we may wrestle against ourselves, other people, or even the wind, but we have a greater foe by far:
Ephesians 6:12 KJV “12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The relapse rate for addiction is apparently around 85% post treatment, which is a very high number. Does it mean the treatment programs are inherently faulty? Or does it mean the patterns, and neurochemistry that develops as a result of addiction, are so complex and ingrained, it creates a powerlessness over the addiction?
Google searches will identify a set of risk factors. The withdrawal period is a very high risk period of time because there are both physiological and a psychological components that must be managed with caution, care, and dignity for the patient. Some states of withdrawal are life threatening.
We have to assume if there has been a treatment program, the treatment will get the person past the initial stages of withdrawal. The first phase is to detoxify, and in some cases it is a critical period requiring close monitoring, fluid replacement, and gradual reduction, and titration of the offending substance.
In my opinion, individual care plans need to be a part of every recovery program, at every stage of recovery. Detox is an acute care phase, if there is severe dependency on any physiologically addictive drug. Oftentimes there are many drugs within a person’s system, to include street drugs or alcohol, combined with prescription, and/or over the counter drugs.
Other reasons for relapse are underlying mental health conditions, childhood trauma, the addicted person’s associates, and/or partying lifestyle, various triggers, and a false sense of assurance such as “I am okay, have a job, and am not on the streets etc”. The idea the addiction can be managed through harm reduction programs might work for some people, but for many, the addictive substance creates a void that cannot be filled, and there is no way of setting limits on it. Once they go back to it, they cannot control it. They are trying to find a way to fill an internal void with the worst possible solution. They end up feeding a monster in a bottomless pit with a voracious appetite.
Abstinence is the only real way to get free of it. This requires a plan, and a dedicated commitment on the part of the addict. No one can leave it up to the system to cure them. In many cases the system is what got them there in the first place. Not to absolve personal responsibility for the choices one makes, but in order to take responsibility, it must become a personal choice. The system might help the process, but it is not really designed to save people. Therefore the system itself must be navigated to avoid the built in pitfalls, and hindrances to recovery.
Other reasons cited are a lack of support systems, such as family support and counselling. In many cases, there is a sense of hopelessness regarding the future. If a person cannot get a decent job, or develop enough confidence in themselves, it is much more difficult. On the other hand, no one can do it for you. It is a personal and spiritual battle of the heart, mind, will, spirit, emotions and physical body. All these elements of recovery must be overcome by the individual.
On the other hand, if there is over confidence and pride, it can lead to a relapse because after a period of sobriety, the person believes they have overcome it, and do not have to abstain or avoid the substance any longer. There is also a strong inclination to substitute one addiction for another, thus giving way to self-deception. A person my quit heroin for instance, but develop a strong dependency on methadone. They may quit alcohol, and develop a dependency on benzodiazepines, believing they are okay since they were prescribed by a doctor. But the substitutions do not cure the problem. They are more like band aids, and do not lead to a true recovery.
Regardless of how and why a relapse happens, it is likely to take the person into the same patterns, or often into an even deeper addiction than ever. Some people believe relapses are part of a process, and to be expected. However, relapses are really quite dangerous. If a person has a relapse, they should not beat themselves up over it, but get back on track as quickly as possible. They should also carefully reflect on what caused the relapse, so they know how to avoid the triggers or pathways that lead to relapse, especially the dominating emotions prior to a relapse.
One of the main dangers of relapses is the fact the person’s tolerance has changed. Therefore they might think they can take the same amount of a drug as they did prior to the period of abstinence, and overdose. Or they might start using again, and manage to control it for awhile, and then rapidly spiral out of control.
The causes or reasons for relapse are widely varied and complex. Many people are simultaneously caught up in addictive type romantic relationships that create emotional upheaval, dependency, and a loss of self control. They might mistake this roller coaster type relationship as love or support, when it is part of the damaging cycle they are in. Some people believe they can rescue others, when they are not intrinsically stable themselves. Relationships can be toxic, with extreme emotional dependency, thus contributing to the cycle of addiction.
I believe the locus of control must come from within. Therefore those who make a decision to quit, without court orders or ultimatums, have a better chance of recovery. Healthy boundaries in relationships must also be learned or established.
In addition, there is a strong spiritual aspect to addiction. This requires a realization that we cannot escape or overcome these patterns on our own. It may seem to be a contradiction to say the locus of control must be an internal driving force, while simultaneously admitting we cannot overcome addiction without accepting God, and the salvation offered through Christ. But the two definitely go hand in hand.
Forgiveness is key to overcoming any kind of bondage. So often people deny or reject the term sin, and yet all addicts have a great deal of shame. The key is to differentiate what the sin is, and seek forgiveness from Christ through sincere repentance. All people need to be forgiven, so it is not only the addict who sins. But to figure out how to get off the destructive pathway, we have to recognize what is destructive. The ability to forgive oneself follows true repentance. It establishes an ability to develop self control, and contributes to a greater understanding of the cause of the deep rooted shame.
People do not like to refer to the addictive lifestyle as sin, because we live in a society that does not want to recognize or identify what sin is. Therefore it makes it much more difficult to repent, and turn away from the things that create an entrapment, and bondage into certain patterns and lifestyles.
There does have to be a substitution of patterns toward more positive daily activities. The addict has to carefully choose what they can do, and what they must avoid. There has to be a way to establish purpose, motivation, and feeling better. In fact, I think feeling better is a very strong motivator for people, and should always be kept at the forefront for all those who are recovering. No more roller coasters, because after awhile the downs are too deep, and the efforts to get the high, just does not pan out any longer. It turns into a cycle of despair. Normal might be boring, but at least it is not agony.
To be free of the bondage, as well as to feel better, are the key objectives. However it is important to be fully aware, once the abstinence is achieved, that it may take some time before a person feels better. The entire neurochemistry has to be reconditioned. This includes restoring natural levels of dopamine, serotonin, melatonin and gut bacteria, to name just a few. Even normal sleep patterns may take months to settle into.
It seems the expectations in many recovery programs might not be realistic, therefore it is easy for people to become discouraged, which creates a big risk for relapse. I think a person has to realize recovery is a long term change, with incremental stages of wellness. Some of the ads we see, show a glowing radiant person standing on the top of a mountain, with claims of being three months clean and sober.
There should be a realistic awareness that there will always be ups and downs. Ecstatic happiness is not going to be the normal state of sobriety, no matter what we do. In fact, peace and purpose in carrying out normal daily activities is a better indicator of achieving wellness in every day life. There is joy in little things. Euphoria is short lived, which means the rest of the time, is where we spend most of our time.
Overall, each person has to develop a plan, along with strategies to improve mood, and neurochemistry, while acknowledging that it will take time. It also depends on the length of time a person was steeped in the addiction, and the depth of the addiction, as well as what range of substances affected the bodily systems. Each recovery needs an individual self care plan.
One key element is the fact that for all people, some days are better than others. To avoid depression, certain things like diet, fresh air, and exercise do wonders. But everyone of us goes through difficult times, and all you can do is alleviate the stress through the various strategies for self care, and wait it out. Prayer is very helpful for those who believe in God. Our entire society has become dependent on quick fixes, and the notion that depression or sadness is a mental health disorder. It is not always a mental health disorder. In fact, there are often many reasons for feeling sad. We cannot expect to go through life without experiencing the full range of human emotions.
The challenge is to be able to recognize what is causing the sadness, and what changes, or actions to take in order to alleviate it. If a person is sad because a family member died, it is an understandable and justifiable sadness. Grief is one of the most difficult types of sadness to overcome. Addictive substances exacerbate grief, and create a vulnerability for those who go through it.
In some cases grief can be managed fairly well, if the loss does not completely upset the foundational stability of a person. But it is a very traumatic and tumultuous period for those who do experience the loss as having the rug pulled out from under them.
To help identify some of the vulnerabilities related to addiction and relapse, grief is high on the list. Also past and present trauma, to include psycho-social trauma, as well as physical trauma. Many people inherit an addiction by adopting familial patterns, or from early trauma. And others fall into addiction as a result of surgeries or traumatic injuries.
Addiction is primarily about escaping the pain of living. Paradoxically it creates an increase in the cycle of pain, and the temporary escape is like a swirling vortex, and worsens by the day. It invites many serious risk factors into a person’s life that can easily end their life. The risks for the addict are increasing by the day.
Recently I read about a young 19 year old man who was overall quite healthy, worked in a stable job, and had good family support. Tragically he died of a fentanyl overdose by taking what he thought was a single Percocet pill. He grew up and lived with his family in a town close to the Mexican border. It was not uncommon for people to go to Mexico for the day with a few friends. While there, he went into a legitimate pharmacy, and bought a bottle of Percocet because it is like an over the counter medication there. You can understand why he would have thought this would have been a safe way to make the purchase, regardless of his reasons for buying the drug.
After spending the day in Mexico, he went home, picked up some take out food, and later on, when he went to bed that night, took one pill from the bottle. The next day when he did not show up for work, his parents were alerted, and went to check on him. They found him blue and unresponsive in his bed. He had died during the night.
It turned out the Percocet he had purchased was laced with fentanyl. His parents found the bottle, the receipt, and counted what was left in the bottle. They knew he had taken just one pill. He could not have known it was laced with fentanyl, and nor was he a drug ravaged addict. He might have had a sore back, or he might have had trouble sleeping, and thought this would insure a good night’s sleep. Who knows for sure? However, the fact a pharmacy open to the public, would have mislabelled Percocet on the shelves when it is actually laced with fentanyl, is a shocking realization for all those who travel to Mexico on vacation, or order pills online etc. The single bottle of Percocet he happened to purchase, had enough fentanyl to kill thirty or more people.
Many people remember the scare a few years ago when an over the counter pain medication was contaminated with cyanide. I think it was some kind of copy cat murder, or diversion for someone who wanted to get away with a targeted murder. But at least the tampered drugs were immediately pulled off the shelves, and it was considered to be murder. I don’t know if there is an investigation when this type of thing happens in Mexico, but it should be considered to be murder too. The offending pharmacy should be shut down.
It just made me wonder what scope and potential there is for such tainted products to be distributed through other mainstream channels. One would think a pharmacy in any country would not have products on the shelves that are incorrectly labelled, and can kill a person in a single dose. The loss of life due to overdoses is staggering, which means the world has an exponential amount of grief to cope with, as a result of drugs.
We are living in perilous times. I see young people on the street who exhibit the same kinds of brain damage you see in long term care facilities where people have had traumatic brain injuries, strokes, and organic brain syndromes. It is just tragic to see someone in their twenties who can hardly walk, or speak, or take care of themselves. So many of them have spastic and permanent movement disorders as well. If they spill the contents of their backpack, they cannot manage to pick the items up, and put them back into the pack. The loss of function is debilitating beyond words.
Recently the system has added another very worrisome drug. The pharmaceutical and health care industry is starting to promote ketamine as a treatment for depression. The long term results of such a treatment cannot possibly be good. Ketamine is an anesthetic drug used in hospitals, and more often in veterinary medicine. It is meant for occasional use only in a monitored and controlled environment.
As a street drug ketamine is unpredictable and addictive, leading to dissociative experiences, hallucinations, and is not meant for street use. There is no way of knowing the long term effects, as it has not been prescribed as a treatment for depression until recently. I was gobsmacked when I read it was being prescribed as a nasal spray for depression.
One university research article claimed ketamine could rebuild the cortex and neuronal pathways of the brain. What a croc of nonsense, no different than when they claimed opiates were not addictive. So many university studies are based on research funded by pharmaceutical companies. In the future, they are far more likely to discover the long term use of ketamine destroys the cortex of the brain, as opposed to rebuilding it. To claim it enhances neurochemistry or synapse communication is insane.
They used to think and claim SSRI’s increased serotonin, or at least many people thought so. Now they admit they simply increased the rate of circulation of serotonin in the brain and central nervous system, which eventually depleted it, and caused a flat affect, worse depression, movement disorders, and various other psychological deficits. SSRI’s often cause extrapyramidal side effects, and suicidal ideation. Ketamine, in my opinion, will be a hundred times worse in the long run.
They want to give other hallucinogenics to treat mental health disorders. When a person has hallucinations, it is considered to be a psychotic episode. Hallucinations are when a person hears voices or sees things that are not really there. If a person has hallucinations, the doctors and pharmaceutical industry are likely to promote anti-psychotics to treat the psychosis. So you can already see how easily a destructive cycle begins. Then the anti-psychotic drug causes a severe movement disorder. So they give an anticholinergic drug to offset the side effects of the anti-psychotic drug. You can see how one ends up getting a chemical soup for breakfast, lunch and supper.
It is not difficult to see how pharmaceutical and prescription drugs have become a leading cause of death. We should all be very cautious, and steer clear of psychotropic drugs period. They tend to treat side effects by giving more drugs.
In many ways, we are navigating a system of pharmaceutical landmines. Step on on one, and it might go poof into a little cloud of smoke. Yet if you step on another one, it might blow up in your face. It is like a game of Russian roulette, and it is no wonder the trust in the health care system is becoming increasingly sketchy. The profit motive supersedes our brains, our minds, our health, and our common sense. The more people they can get addicted, the bigger and more steady the profit becomes. The casualties are piling up in the morgues.
When it comes to medication, it is buyer beware. If medication is legitimately needed, we should all do in-depth research before taking it, and create a plan to get off the drug as soon as possible. All substance abuse starts with the use of the substance, with a false sense of security. The best thing we can do for ourselves, is to try and avoid the trap in the first place.
If we do fall into the drug trap, get out of it as fast as possible. We are wise to make a confirmed decision to avoid the pitfall like we would avoid quicksand, or landmines, or climbing down a dark mine shaft, or walking in front of a train. Some of the negative outcomes are insidious, and others are rapid.
Either way, addiction is a death trap. For those who are steeped in addiction, they are palliative, and need care like anyone else who is palliative. The war on drugs is actually a war on the individual for profit. The entire scope of it is so blurred, it has blinded us to the dangers. Relapse used to be something to shrug off as part of the journey. Now it is like losing the trail completely, and stumbling back into a pit of crocodiles.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Some of the trends on YouTube revolve around the standard televangelist type monetizing, which is as old as TV itself. Some of us can recall the Jimmy Swaggart and Tammy Faye scandals back in the eighties with the Assemblies of God church.
Most memorable for me is the massive amount of eye makeup Tammy Faye wore, along with the crying and numerous public apologies. After the scandals and affairs became public, I do recall a T-shirt promotion. It had a big black smudge on the front of the shirt, with the caption “I hugged Tammy Faye”.
So it is no surprise that YouTube has many church related fund raising sites, some of which may be quite legitimate. Regardless of the topics or the truth surrounding the many topics, people can easily donate to whatever subjects or organizations they choose.
Pop psychology is not much different than many of the church sites, as there is a fair bit of heart tugging manipulation based on emotions such as fear and sympathy. The church broadcasters and psychology gurus, are comparable in many ways.
There are many topics now that can be monetized on YouTube, from courses, to pop psychology, diet, and true crime. One of the more recent surges in monetization and opinions comes from the fascination with the Idaho student murders.
It is truly amazing to me how many have jumped on this particular bandwagon. In one case, a very detailed and organized YouTube publisher sells subscriptions for one dollar a month. Given that she has thousands of viewers and subscribers, she is probably doing reasonably well, as long as she can keep up with delivering interesting content, which must be a full time job.
In addition, there are retired police officers who set up a panel of three, and sometimes have special guests. In those cases, people will donate certain small sums ranging between $2.00 and $20.00 on average, in order to submit a comment, and basically get a high five, and a thank you from the team.
One thing to note is that many of the broadcasters just love their audience, as if we can be totally enamoured by those we do not even know. It does have some of the same patterns as the early televangelists. But at least the sums are small, and the content creators are not claiming to offer anything but opinions and experience. So fair enough. Admittedly, it is more honest than claiming they will do faith healing, or set the viewers up for a windfall of pennies from heaven, like the prosperity gospel preachers do.
Of course there is a great deal of speculation because the majority of the evidence in the case has not even been released. What is the point in going over every detail of a probable cause arrest document, when it is only the tip of the iceberg as far as evidence is concerned? But the fascination with the case fuels the input, and the money fuels the motivation for those who create the content.
In a sense it is similar to gloom and doom pop psychology. We seem to have a natural attraction to what makes lunatics tick. Why did he do it? Will he get away with it? Did he have an accomplice? Did he know the victims? Is he brilliant or is he a moron? Where is the knife? Did he throw it in the river or did he bury it? How long was he planning this? Did he stalk them on social media? What about the dog? Will the dog be the hero by shedding his hair so it is found somewhere in the perpetrators car or apartment?
Some of the commentators were saying how BK is nowhere near as sophisticated or brilliant as Ted Bundy or the BTK killer, Green River killer etc. But they are not taking into consideration the advancement of forensic science and technology. Anyone who claims a murderer is brilliant is giving them far too much credit. Bundy got caught and was executed, even though his crimes were committed before there was DNA profiling.
The inclination to give the murderers some kind of intellectual superiority is not truthful, and not the least bit helpful. In fact, many of them are so filled with narcissism and attention seeking, they revel in hearing the so-called experts describing them as being brilliant, geniuses, or fascinating, when in fact they are sick, sadistic and deranged.
The evidence in the case of the Idaho killer is already overwhelming, with a great deal more to come. The killer might have been studying for a PhD but all it goes to show, is that you do not have to be brilliant to be a University student either. Some people are brighter than others, and he clearly was not one of the bright ones.
The truth is – no one gets away with murder. Nothing is hidden from God. But even for those who do not believe in God, the forensic evidence or DNA through familial genealogy, can track them down at any time, even ten, twenty or forty years later.
The other aspect of it is their own conscience. I remember reading about a case where a man killed a woman he barely knew after a drunken altercation. They were in a remote location, and he left her for dead somewhere. Her death was never solved, and had become a cold case.
But his conscience bothered him even though he tried to stifle the memories of what happened. One day, he got a mistaken call to pick up a Costco prescription. The pharmacy retailer left him a message something to the effect, “your number is up”. He panicked and thought it was a message about the murder twenty years prior. As a result of a random mistaken call, and the wording of the message, he promptly went and turned himself into the police. What a good description of self driven justice, in spite of never being caught.
The rise in monetizing the macabre, could have indirect consequences, in the various nuggets of information, and ideas that surface as a result of it all.
In fact, if not for widespread public interest in true crime, the Gabby Petito case might not have been solved. At least one could surmise they may never have found her body, if not for a couple of adventure seekers who happened to drive down the same remote road where Brian Laundrie had parked, in order to bury her body. The couple who drove past not only saw the distinctive van parked there, but they filmed it, so it became a crucial part of the evidence that solved her disappearance.
In addition to the advancement and sophistication in forensic technology, there has been a huge increase in social media sleuths, doorbell cameras, dash cams, cell phone footage, screen shots, and armchair detectives. You would think the murderers would know they cannot get away with it, but it does not seem to stop them.
It seems that a whole new genre of monetizing true crime podcasts, and information sharing is on the rise. Unfortunately only certain cases really capture the public’s attention, and other cases quickly go by the wayside. But one thing it does highlight is the interconnectedness between the general public and the crimes that happen. When you watch the footage of the white car the killer drove, and follow all the places it went at all hours of the night, it must make those who live in the vicinity feel creeped out to know this person was driving around their neighbourhood like a wild beast circling its prey.
All of social media has merits as well as drawbacks. It is interesting to note in the latest developments, the killer is reported to have stalked his victims, and sent them messages on social media. This will also be taken in as evidence to help convict him. Ironically the very same things that set his sights on the victims, will bite back, in providing more incontrovertible evidence against him.
On the cautionary note however, is that social media can attract predators. It can also set young people up on an illusory quest for giving an outward appearance of living a romantic or perfect life. Like all content creation, it becomes difficult to keep up with, and difficult to live up to.
The world of technology has us hooked. I think the young people who use it freely for sharing and social engagement should be very cautious when it comes to disclosing their locations. There seems to be an assumption of safety. It is true, no one can jump through a computer screen or cell phone with a knife. But the social media disclosures, can put the person with the knife in proximity to the victims, as the Idaho case has shown.
Therefore in all cases, people should lock their doors at all times. They should also review video footage of security systems on a regular basis, and go through messages they receive to see if there are any common denominators. For those of us who are not in the University stage, or in the habit of using Instagram and Tik Tok, we don’t really grasp the law of attraction surrounding these methods of communication.
The potential for crime and victimization cannot be ignored. Not long ago a senior was ripped off for over $40,000 due to an email phishing scam. Many more have been duped by fake calls from Canada Revenue Agency.
One tip on email scams, is the return email will often have a whole string of random characters, instead of a legitimate email address. Many times they will show screenshots, with all the standard logos and colours, in order to dupe people into thinking they are legit. If anything suspicious comes in, and you wonder about it, it is better to go to the source separately, as opposed to following any links.
For email and phone scams, it is common for them to say you have a refund or a parcel to pick up. These are used as bait to get you to click on a site that can grab personal information. In the case of the senior who was defrauded of 40K a company he was familiar with told him they had accidentally deposited money into his account, and showed a fake bank statement. But rather than take the bait, it is better to ignore it, and then check your account.
Personally I do not respond to any notifications or warnings. Nor do I store passwords on any device. Also if you get a pop up when logging into a bank account telling you to change passwords or change security questions, don’t fall for it. Say no thanks and log out because it could be a pop up screen shot to steal your information.
When you decide to change a PW or security questions, log in to your account separately and go to the profile or account settings to make the changes. I have learned to be suspicious of any sudden pop-up screen shots during a log in, asking for a verification or a change in the information you have set up for that account. It is amazing what scammers can do online to gain access to personal information.
There are also advanced settings you can explore on your computer, to see if there is any suspicious activity, or security breaches. You have the options of setting controls, limits, set up scans, and encryption options as well. The other thing to do is clear the browsing cache on a regular basis.
For all forms of Internet presence, we should all be careful to set boundaries and protect ourselves. For those who broadcast publicly, on YouTube and various other platforms, never meet with someone you do not know, and above all always lock your doors.
Countless people make money online in one way or another. Most of us have some kind of online presence. Many use platforms like Twitter and FB to keep in touch or share opinions.
Social media has become a convenient, and often interesting part of life. However, it is a rapidly changing world from a technology perspective, and is becoming increasingly complex. We simply cannot afford to be naive.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2023). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Some of the most longstanding and iconic companies have filed for bankruptcy. It is enough to change the retail landscape for the rest of time. Even Amazon is becoming increasingly unstable. After the initial covid surge in online sales, the stocks have plummeted, with much speculation surrounding the future of the behemoth company. But Amazon is not really iconic or historically enduring compared to some of these companies. In some ways it is more of an anomaly, than anything else.
Notable stores that have filed for bankruptcy recently include J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus Group, Aldo, True Religion, Barneys New York, Sonia Rykiel, Roberto Cavalli, Diesel, Nine West, J. Crew, Claire’s, Lord & Taylor, Revlon, Escada, Ralph & Russo, Francesca’s, Furla, Brooks Bothers, G Star Raw, Lucky Dungarees, Alfred Angelo, Jaeger, BCBG Max Mara, and many more.
This list does not include the influx of pending bankruptcies for 2021 and 2022. It is truly staggering. For example Brooks Brothers was in business for more than 200 years. The company Jaeger was founded in 1884.
The crash in retail fashion sales is truly apocalyptic, which means it is never going to be the same. Companies with product in all price ranges seem to be affected. For instance, the jewelry company Claire’s sold a mass produced cheaper line of jewelry. I am not surprised to see Claire’s go under.
Whereas Roberto Cavalli is an upscale designer founded in 1970, known for bold prints, and exotic animal prints on leather and textiles. Sonia Rykiel founded her company in 1968 and became known as the “queen of knits”.
Alfred Angelo was founded in Florida in the mid 1930’s. The company specialized in wedding, bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and party dresses. They filed for bankruptcy just before the covid crisis.
Escada was founded in Germany by Margaretha Ley, and has been a leading luxury apparel brand since 1978. The company had retail stores in twenty-four countries. They could not withstand the covid crisis, and ran into problems renewing their leases.
It also appears the publicly traded luxury brand consignment company the RealReal is at risk of bankruptcy. A recent article in Forbes magazine describes its business model as not being designed for the long haul. Personally, I believe consignment carries a fair bit of risk for those who contribute product.
However, the luxury brand second hand market is now a thirty-two billion dollar industry, and has seen growth five times faster than the primary retail market has shown between 2017-2021. For those who are poised for the long haul, and do not have massive expenses, debt, or red tape to deal with, the circular economy is a carousal we can keep on riding.
After all, the UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments) added a policy to support culture as one of the key pillars of economic development. Therefore, sustaining and supporting culture is well established, and recognized for its relevance and importance in the economy. The definition of culture is fairly broad, but it most certainly includes fashion and art.
“Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art.”
It seems the recent surge of bankruptcies is just the tip of the iceberg, with another long list of potential bankruptcies pending.
For all of my adult life, I have believed 20th century design represents the final hurrah for quality and luxury in the fashion world. It was the century of modern day magnificence, and boundless creativity in fashion design. It did not rely upon fast fashion mass produced in China, but showcased designer talents from many countries. Italy, France, USA, India, Germany, Canada, UK, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Mexico, Japan, and 1960’s Hong Kong, all contributed a cultural splendour among certain designers of fashion and jewelry. Many of the textiles, are now obsolete, and the quality of workmanship is labour intensive and cost prohibitive.
The questions we might ask ourselves now: How far will it tumble? How many more will go down? How much of it will recover? And what will the recovery look like? It almost seems certain, many of the most beautiful things, will never be made again.
At present there are many unknowns. The stock market predictions are not very reliable because a company like Amazon can hang on for awhile, and then suddenly the shares could devalue to next to nothing. One aspect of Amazon I could never understand is how they could afford such a liberal shipping and return policy.
When it comes to online sales, in my own limited experience, shipping is a significant expense. If a company has many returns, which requires repackaging and re-listing, in addition to the cost of shipping, I can see why they might go broke.
All throughout history, the artisans and contributors to the fashion industry have thrived. People have been wearing fine textiles and jewelry since the dawn of mankind.
Now it seems quite possible many of these things, especially the higher end textiles, gemstones and finery – will no longer be made.
It is beginning to look like the end.
We can read about this in the Book of Revelation Chapter 18 KJV:
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Thankfully we do not all have to weep and mourn over these bankruptcies, or the prophecies we read about in the Bible. However it is truly astounding to live in a time where so many prophecies are being fulfilled, right before our eyes.
I hope it serves to strengthen our faith, in spite of it all. We are not supposed to give up, but to be steadfast, keep working, and do good.
The best advice is to avoid worshipping things, no matter how opulent they may be. We can admire them, show them, wear them, or sell them – but we do not worship them.
They are products. Many of the products are well made and beautiful. The most talented designers, and resellers simply look for the best quality, and most long lasting products.
We do not stop living, even though we are in the midst of these developments, because we do not know how long the downturn will last, or how exactly things will unfold.
It could be an hour, a day, or another hundred years or more. Throughout history people have always set dates, and predicted the end of the world as we know it. We are to keep working toward the good, and have faith.
If all else fails, believers in the Gospel will not cease to exist, and eventually we will see a new beginning. Truthfully, the future holds more beauty than anything we could ever imagine, or anything we have ever seen before.
Therefore in times of trouble – we keep the faith. And remember – wisdom is more precious than gold.
The original post below was written in December 2022. Since then the Etsy organization has been adversely affected by the Silicone Bank failure, which has ties to the various Etsy stores as far as payments are concerned. This places the sellers at increased risk, and has fuelled speculation.
However, many seem to be flexible, and are putting stores in vacation mode, or switching to independent online stores. I can only imagine how stressful it must be for those who have invested a significant amount of time, and money into their small businesses. I wish them all the best, and hope the financial pressure, and uncertainty gets resolved soon. It does sound like some of the information has been hyperbole, since various articles claim the Silicon Bank failure affected less than 1% of the stores.
The December 2022 post starts here:
First and foremost I want to say that I am not a financial forecaster. Nor am I an accountant, therefore my observations are purely speculative.
I did not give much thought to it before, but given that I do a fair bit of research on product pricing, from high end to low end, I am familiar with their advertising, prices, listings, and claims. I have also seen many news articles, forum comments, and other complaints against the organization in recent months.
From the sellers perspective, they have tried to unionize and have actually gone on strike. In the spring of 2022, 47,000 sellers signed a petition citing unfair treatment and seller’s fees. They also filed a change.org petition that garnered over 25,000 signatures. Another information snippet places the boycott at over 82,000, 29,000 who claim to be Etsy sellers. These things most certainly do not look good for the organization.
From the consumer perspective, Etsy has many cases of fraud and counterfeit goods being sold. There are numerous online consumer reports claiming they ordered items, and did not receive them. In addition, they could net get any results or response when they attempted to get their money back.
Hundreds, if not thousands of other companies who built their businesses on the Etsy platform have suddenly been shut down. In those cases, the companies are claiming they did not receive notice, and could not get an answer when they tried to find out what the reasons are.
It looks like troubling times are happening, not only due to covid and inflation, but also for many other reasons. Etsy is an American company that was founded in 2005. They did an IPO in 2015. The corporate advertising claims they sell vintage, individual artisan handmade items, and craft supplies.
I researched some of their top sellers, one of which is a jewelry design company, a mom and pop organization that claims to sell over 100K per month. This to me raises an immediate red flag. If you examine the jewelry, you know darn well it is not made by hand, by a small cottage industry, or home based business. When you read their success story, there is very little information, other than scanty very superficial romanticized designer information.
I do not make jewelry or even repair jewelry, but I do collect it, do macro photography, and have looked at thousands, and thousands of different jewelry designs over the years. I can usually tell when something is hand made, and can tell if something is vintage. If something is mass produced in Asia, there are also many telltale signs. One sign is the low price. If a company sells individually made pieces at a price range between $30 – $50, it is quite amazing, assuming they are hand cutting diamonds, as well as creating their own settings. The old adage stands firm, if it sounds too good to be true – it probably is not true.
The reasons I personally do not believe a micro-enterprise that sells jewelry, can cut and set small diamonds, make many chains, and various metal lettering that requires die casting, expertise, and machination, is because these items look just like what you see on Amazon or Alibaba. In addition, when the company describes their success, it is all about how busy they are packaging and sending their jewelry, not about making it. Plus how can a small company make that much jewelry in a month? You have to sell a lot of jewelry at that price point, to make 100K in one month.
Just like the sellers who got shut down suddenly, and without being given a reason, deserve answers – so do the shareholders, consumers, and other sellers deserve some answers. The remaining sellers who are honestly struggling to survive, as well as consumers who think they are getting handmade one-of-a-kind products, deserve answers. This is especially so when what appears to be happening, goes against the grain of their original marketing plan. It certainly does look like they are allowing the high volume sellers to continue, with mass produced product, and numbers that do not ring true.
So why does Etsy allow what appears to be a mass produced product to thrive, when they claim they are ONLY promoting vintage, and handmade artisan items from small grassroots organizations? Yet they are shutting down other Etsy sellers left and right. Clearly, they are allowing the high volume, mass produced sales to go through, without shutting that company down for not meeting the criteria they themselves have set. Why? Because they are making money for the shareholders, so it is much easier to let that slip through the criteria cracks than it is for those who are not making high volume sales.
If a company is selling 100K a month worth of product, at an average price of $30, that means they are selling on average 110 items per day. They would also have to be making 110 items per day, or they would soon run out of product.
How is it possible for a small micro-enterprise to make, and sell 110 unique, hand crafted products per day? They are busy shipping, with absolutely no mention of the manufacturing process involved, to keep up with such demands. Plus it takes many years of training, practice, and experience to cut diamonds, and fit them perfectly into settings. The same with all the silver and metal chains. Are they making those by hand too? A retired jewelry maker in Vancouver sold me a 1920’s chain a few years ago, and told me it took a full day to make one inch.
The creation of this type of jewelry, is not like putting a bead on a string. And in my opinion, that is what you would have to do, in order to sell that many jewelry items a day, and keep up with production, shipping, and other demands of running the business. I know of experienced jewelry makers on Haida Gwaii, who spent days making a single item. You know if something is made by a true artisan. At least you soon figure it out, if you pay attention.
Another Etsy organization I read about that did get shut down, claimed they had made hundreds of thousands of sales over a ten year period. Hundreds of thousands, is a lot of sales for a small company sewing fabric flowers on cushions. If you assume hundreds of thousands to be say, 500,000 divided by ten, that would mean they were selling 50,000 items per year, which is over 4000 per month. That is not a typical sales volume for a hand crafted product.
After the store got shut down on Etsy, they set up a standalone web shop. Although I cannot tell if the items are hand sewn or not, they only have around a hundred products to sell, all of which use the same flower design. Once again, it does not ring true, or seem possible that they sold hundreds of thousands of cushions, each with a fabric flower on it. They do not have any notable branding. They have a very small product line, with some wall hangings that have the exact same flower as is on the cushions. That’s it.
So, from both a consumer, and a seller’s perspective, there seems to be some glaring discrepancies that just don’t add up. I recall when Etsy was brand new back in 2005, and do believe the concept was solid to begin with. It brought many small craft people into the marketplace with some very nice handmade products. It was also a great place to find good deals on unique, one-of-a-kind items.
Like so many things, it started out fine, but something has happened over the years to pull it down. It is no longer the trustworthy organization it once was. To have such a scale of disgruntled sellers, and consumers, is not a good sign, regardless of what the stock market is predicting to try and keep it afloat.
Etsy does a phenomenal amount of advertising. Every item, every designer, and every bit of research I do, pulls up hundreds of Etsy ads. This might help explain why they are increasing seller’s fees to the point of revolt. I have never been inclined to sell on Etsy because I knew the organization would have control, not me. I also did not like the looks of many of the stores, in particular, the photography.
But clearly, many of the sellers are legitimate, hardworking people who deserve to build a successful business, and it does appear the organization started out that way. Another unverified bit of insight I read while researching this, is that almost half of Etsy sellers make less than $100 per year. That too, is not a good sign, especially when you consider the amount of advertising they do. No control and no sales, does not make for an attractive business model.
The decline appears to have started after they did the IPO in 2015. The shares grew rapidly, and all was well. For awhile. But a quick review of how much their debt increased shows an increase in debt of 147% in 2019. In 2020 there was a 32% increase, and in 2021, there was an increase of 115%
As I said, I am not a stock market guru by any stretch. But in my opinion, it is the increase in debt that is causing the increase in seller’s fees. This in turn, has caused financial hardship for those who are putting time, money, and energy into creating their own products, in addition to doing the photography, descriptions, etc.
Even though the investors information is not yet predicting a high probability of bankruptcy, one can draw their own conclusions. With the high rate of inflation, and the downturn in all retail sales, can they wait it out? Can they turn things around when they have a growing trend of disgruntled sellers, unhappy consumers, and increasing debt? And what are they going to do about mass produced high volume sales, when they claim to be niche market, which is just the opposite? It does not look good.
One of the reasons I find this to be very interesting, is because of the whole long tail niche marketing concept central to my own long haul in developing the Quiet West website, and vintage product line.
High volume, mass produced items are at the head of the tail. Those are the products you buy at Amazon, and various other large scale department stores. To explain the head of the tail, it means they sell mass produced items, and sell them cheap, in high volumes.
Whereas in the niche market businesses, we sell one-of-a-kind items that cannot be purchased in large volumes. When I embarked on this project, selling individual and unique items, my theory was that in order to develop a strong footprint and online presence, as a long tail marketing concept – you have to have a high volume of niche market items, or no one will ever notice you. Basically, it is the polarized opposite, or the flip side of the coin between the head of the tail, and the long tail, on the other side.
My theory is that by putting in the upfront efforts, in creating a long tail, it will attract those who want to find unique one-of-a-kind quality items, that you cannot find at Amazon or Walmart. It also appeals to the sustainable development, and environmentally positive contribution to business development.
This old world has developed and created billions of products over the years. With the new millennium, and rise in fast fashion, it became all about turning a fast buck, as opposed to creating high quality, well-crafted items that cost much more to produce.
Although Etsy might be able to hang in there, and make the required changes to stay afloat, in my opinion it is not looking good. For those who have put in a significant amount of time and effort building a small online business with Etsy, they are in a very precarious position. Etsy owns them. They own their customer lists. They can shut them down, without even giving an explanation. That is a huge blow for any entrepreneur. It also must create a significant amount of fear and trepidation for those who are still functioning.
Times are changing. E-Commerce is not going to go away, unless there is a complete collapse of civilization. But the next couple of years will be an unstable time for many retail organizations, both online and offline.
I cannot boast about any big success stories yet, as I just tentatively opened right before the covid fiasco. In addition, I still have plenty of work to do, to get all the information documented on the products. I have made many International sales, but honestly cannot make any wild exaggerations.
One thing I will say, is that if anyone contacts me with a question about a product, I will reply promptly. I would never ignore a customer. In addition, once an item is sold, I consider the customer to be the owner of the item, and aim to get it out to them ASAP. If there are delays involved with dry cleaning or shipping, I will communicate that to the customer up front.
I certainly do not have all the answers, other than to put energy into building a solid foundation, keep the debt to a minimum, and wait it out. I also believe as time goes on, more and more people will appreciate a micro-enterprise that is responsive, prompt, and honest. It is very important to me, to keep customers happy. A long tail niche market store requires a great deal in upfront time and investment. Normally, these are things that create long lasting value, and a solid foundation.
One good thing to note, is tangible products do not go up in vapour, like many stock market investments do. In a sense, a collection of vintage design, is like a long term penny stock investment, only the products are tangible, so if they go up in value over the years, the return should be reasonably good.
My interest to a large extent revolves around creativity, improving the photography, learning about web development, and motifs, design and patterns. I appreciate the workmanship done by other people over the decades, and believe many of these things should be documented for design schools, and for the historical, and cultural representations they bring from the different eras and locations.
Of course I love to find and promote mid-century Canadian designers, because of a sense of awe in what came out of Montreal during those peak creative years, and the fact I am Canadian. In recent years, we have had such a huge influx of fast fashion made in China, it made me even more determined to collect and document the remnants of design, and quality fashion, that came from locations other than China.
Who knows what the future will bring? One thing I can say without making exaggerations – is that I have visitors from all over the world, with the exception of Greenland. Most of the Quiet West visitors are from North America, followed by the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, and Japan – as the top visitors on the site.
Overall, the number of locations that have visited Quiet West since I set up Google analytics, is between 167-169 countries. Understandably, there are a few countries in Africa without visitors, probably because they do not have an Internet connection. But to my surprise, I have had visitors from more than half the countries in Africa. I have not bought a single ad so far. I used to have the social media buttons, but took them off. I really don’t know how people find my website. I no longer have a Facebook account, and do not use Twitter or Instagram either. Once I am ready, I will officially launch the store, and use those marketing avenues.
One added bonus, is that I am getting a global geography lesson!
So – many thanks to all the visitors from faraway places. It does provide a connection to locations I would not otherwise even know about, and vice versa. I have the security of knowing I will not get shut down on someone’s whim. When you use open source to build an online store, you own the architecture of your store. I once read, it is like the difference between owning and leasing. I do not like the concept of having the rug pulled out from under me, after so much time and money has been invested.
The communication and sharing, knowing people are visiting, and followers are taking an interest, help to keep us going when times get tough. All things we do, create a form of cultural representation and outreach. I think art, culture, and design gives us common ground. Every culture, and every era, has created artistically beautiful things. It gives us a chance to peruse, and appreciate these things, albeit from a distance.
I would not discourage any person from setting up an online store. In fact, I think it is a good idea, in spite of the hurdles. But I would caution people to use open source software, and to learn how to do basic online publishing and photography, so the efforts are not in vain. And then hope and pray – the law of attraction will come your way!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As an amateur photographer using a DSLR camera, I have learned, the frame size makes quite a difference. The biggest difference is in shooting full length gowns, robes, or coats.
With a Nikon D80, the room I was in was not large enough. So for long dresses and robes, I would have to back up, open the sliding door, and stand on the balcony to get the full image.
If you browse various Etsy sites, you will notice that in many cases long gowns are cut in half. You don’t see the full length in the product photo because the person does not have the space.
My initial assumption was that the distance was a lens feature, not so much a camera feature, but after switching to a larger frame camera, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get the full frame long gowns or coats without having to stand out on the balcony, and let the flies or bees in.
The larger frame 48 megapixel camera is great for being able to take pictures in a smaller studio space. It is certainly something to consider for anyone who is taking fashion photos in smaller spaces.
The drawback though, and once again, I assumed it was a lens feature, but found out is is also a camera feature on the macro photography as well. I find it much more difficult to get really good macro photos with a large beast of a camera. Ahh – but all things in life involve a certain trade-off I suppose.
Nikon cameras developed the F mount for the various different lenses in 1959. They made the very intelligent decision to use the same F mount attachment year after year on camera bodies, as they built new and improved cameras.
Unfortunately the trusty old Nikon D80 I used for many years finally bit the dust and would no longer work with any lens. It just gave a stubborn ERR message, and would not budge.
I had to get another camera. As a result, I gained a better understanding of how the camera and lens have properties that change when you change camera bodies, even if you use the same lens.
It now makes perfect sense to me why the larger frame camera does better with full frame, and not as well with the macro close-ups. The smaller frame size camera is more geared to the close ups, with better intrinsic resolution.
In my opinion, both the larger and smaller frame cameras have very strong attributes, depending on what you are using them for. I know the Nikon D80 is no longer being made, but there are a few of them out there yet, with a fairly low price tag. You can buy the D80 camera body in the range of $100 – $350 or so.
The D80 is a great camera, especially for the macro shots. It is also fairly small and easy to manage on the tripod, even with a larger lens.
With photography, there is a fair bit of trial and error involved. I guess it depends on how much of the technical material one reads, and how much you just wing it.
The most photogenic products – in my opinion, are hand painted porcelain, colourful silk scarves, and embroidered silk textiles. Artisan sterling silver, with coloured gemstones, is also a real pleasure to photograph. The superior craftsmanships shows.
Capturing the beauty, colour, artistry, and workmanship of certain vintage items is a challenge. The camera often shows things about the product you would not otherwise notice.
I think the motifs, patterns and design get framed in, and maybe it does something overall for learning. The observation of so many different patterns, has sort of an orderly mathematical aspect to the learning curve as well.
Although many aspects of photography remain elusive, and some things are more technical weaknesses, I can certainly understand why people get hooked on it!
Jewelery, made from organic materials, in my opinion, is the most interesting of all. In previous posts, I wrote about the peak eras of resource extraction during the mid-twentieth century.
Humans tend to mine, or access what is most accessible at the time. Many of the old turquoise mines shut down long ago. Ivory, coral, and amber all have restrictions and limitations on what can be used and sold now.
It seems like we may have passed the time, when the earth’s resources were considered to be an endless supply. Once the valuables were mined or taken from the easy access locations, the further one has to go to find the valuable organic materials. The more difficult the access, the less abundant, and the more expensive things become.
In addition, the organic materials create hands-on educational opportunities. What kind of shell, nut, wood, or bead is this? It would take many years to be able to identify all the materials used, spanning a century or more of living, travel, and post-war abundance. We took things for granted.
Now, not only are the materials more “precious” should we say? For those of us who appreciate natural materials more than synthetic or manmade items, we have good reasons for our appreciation. Nothing reflects or absorbs colour like baltic amber in the sunlight. Shells and mother of pearl are beautifully iridescent. Every single gemstone is unique.
Ethically, and from a sustainable development perspective, the preservation and re-use of jewelery made from organic materials makes so much sense. How many of us, other than carpenters – know how to identify all the different types of wood? Ebony and rosewood, are among the types of wood used by higher end designers. They are often adorned with diamonds, gold, or sterling silver. Chanel, YSL and Miriam Haskell all designed some beautiful wood jewelery over the years. The array of antique and vintage wooden jewelery boxes, is staggering when it comes to attention to detail, and quality of workmanship.
Also, most of us would not know how to identify all the different types of nuts that have been used to make jewelery over the years. If we live in a location without nut trees, we have no idea what kind of nuts are on a necklace. Believe it or not, there are antique carved walnut necklaces that took hundreds of hours to make. Each walnut has carved scenes. They are antiques from China, and I believe the carved walnuts are called hediao.
“Known as ‘hediao’, fruit or nut pit carving is a folk art which became popular in China during the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911 the last imperial dynasty of China.Jan 2, 2021″.
Amber does not come with fully intact little bugs or spiders inside. There are many fakes. But with authentic Baltic amber, you can see the bits of organic material inside. More so, there is a glow that comes from deep within, so you can see the interplay between the amber and ultraviolet light, when taking macro photos. The macro photography has given me a better eye for, and a better understanding and perspective, when it comes to organic jewelery. There is nothing like amber and rock crystal, if you want to get out of a humdrum picture taking mode.
Amber is a much wider field of study than most of us realize. We tend to think of its colour as being the golden yellow that we see most often in Baltic amber. However it can also be found in red, green, blue, brown, orange, and black. In fact, there are over sixty types of fossil resins from all over the world. And guess what? The oldest fossil resins are found in Canada! Here is an excerpt from a site with a full a glossary of the types of fossil resins, and where they are found.
“There are over 60 types of fossil resin known all over the world. The youngest of them can be found in
East America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or even Europe. The oldest sources of fossil resin can be
found in Canada. It is worth remembering that many types of resin such as Arabic gum, manila copal
mastic, myrrh, sandarach, and dammar resin are artificially produced. Nowadays many chemical,
physical genetic, and paleontologic researchers are being widely conducted. Its main idea is to find the
mother trees of fossil resin types.”
Another fascinating and colourful gemstone is Ammolite. The only gemstones made of this very colourful, organic, fossilized sea creature material, came from Alberta, Canada.
“While fossilized ammonites can be found in several places around the world, a small area within the Bearpaw Formation, the name for the area leftover from where sediment settled on the bottom of sea, in Southern Alberta, Canada, is the only location where they have been turned into gemstones.” How about that? Alberta actually has some gems!
Organic adornments help us to appreciate nature. If they land up discarded in a landfill, for the most part, they will turn into compost.
We may have come to a point where we no longer take the earth’s resources for granted, including the time, labour, and energy it takes to create things.
When I think of putting together a collection that spans 20th century design, I wonder if it is a massive reflection of labour intensive materialism. We are not quite 25% into the 21st century, and already the view of the earth and its resources is changing dramatically.
As we turned the millennial corner, fast fashion became the rage, and “new is better” set the stage. Now suddenly, there are labour shortages, material and supply chain difficulties, travel and shipping restrictions, higher costs on extracting resources, etc. etc.
We defined progress, and then watched it happen. It all grew like a mustard tree. Now we regress, and the common people do not have quite as much opulence and wealth. There is more concern over food security and housing, than there is over fashion and art right now. It is totally understandable.
At a certain point, progress as we once knew it, is no longer progress. Success needs to be redefined. We pick up these remnants, and pass them on. We are only stewards of the earth’s resources. If we take care of, and protect what is already here, maybe we will have the resources to work toward, and pay for the things that matter most.
When you really think about it – will there even be a 21st century of design? I wonder…
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
There is no doubt in my own mind how much there is to be learned from our cultural history and diversity. The Quiet West collection by itself has a wide array of fascinating things to learn about. I have found it takes many years, if not a lifetime of ongoing learning, to become adept at identifying what’s what.
In the garments, there is a full range of textiles to identify, to include the type of fabric, or looming techniques, screen printing, hand printing, hand painting, various weaves, patterns, and a multitude of different embellishments. Most of the techniques used in the early part of the twentieth century were labour intensive, and are not the norm in today’s world of fast fashion. Many of the fabrics they used, are now obsolete. In the case of fancy silk brocades and embellished fabrics, the prices on today’s fabrics, if they do exist, can be prohibitively expensive.
In addition, the era or time frame when the item was created can be identified by certain features and fabrics. The authenticity of things prior to the 1990’s is easier to determine than it is for the replicas, fakes and knock-offs that have been made in more recent years. Items with all labels and tags really help to narrow down the time frame.
For instance in North America, garments made between 1968 – 1984 will often have small square union labels near the zipper, or on an inside seam. Notable designers with intact labels, also make it possible to narrow down the time frame in which it was made.
Jewelery is a vast field all on its own. The design, techniques, famous designers, era, and materials used – is a dazzling and vast subject of study. There is an endless array of knowledge in the coloured gemstones, lamp work beads, various art glass techniques, organic materials like amber, coral, and pearls, plus coatings, crystals, cuts, machinations, and even the plastics they used. Lucite jewelery was very popular in the fifties.
Certain mystery materials, especially if they are organic, makes for an interesting show and tell. Shells also offer a range of studies in the different types, classifications, markings, shapes, and colours. Antique and vintage ivory, although banned in many countries now, is still intriguing to examine and learn about.
Not to be facetious, but you can’t put a carved necklace back on the elephant anyway. So you might as well examine it, and preserve it so others can see and learn about it as well. I don’t believe in the destruction of artifacts. Although I do most certainly believe elephants and other animals with tusks should be protected from poaching.
However, a number of animals die naturally. The average lifespan of an elephant is 48-70 years. It’s too bad they could not find a way to put markings on legitimate ivory from elephants that died naturally. But alas, human nature has caused harm, so all of the ivory is now off-limits, except for educational purposes.
The number of sterling silver hallmarks in existence can literally make your head spin. There is an entire encyclopedia from Mexico alone. Europe also has thousands of hallmarks and symbols to be identified. Some of the most famous designers rise to the surface, and after awhile, you can learn to recognize the distinctive styles, designers and countries of origin. Doing the macro photography has helped me have a better eye for jewelery design. The macro photography often shows things you didn’t notice, so it has an added benefit.
Antique and vintage porcelain is another vast area full of intrigue, with a sophisticated level of academia to go with it. My personal favourite is early to mid-century hand painted Japanese porcelain. The more refined the porcelain, the more intricate the painting in depth and colour, combined with the culturally unique aspects of the painting and gilding, all contribute to its stunning beauty. It is very photogenic, and a real pleasure to look at and photograph.
The symbols or markings on porcelain help us identify the era and maker. In the case of Japanese and other Asian porcelain, the symbols have to be examined closely. The markings contribute a great deal towards increasing our knowledge about them. Fine porcelain has been shipped around the world for centuries.
One of the recent listings features a 1950’s mid-century dresser box with hand painted roses and gilding. It was made during the post war time frame when Japan was creating porcelain for export to the western world. Much of it was developed with imagery and design they thought would appeal to western culture. Below is a link to show this particular design:
It is an example of ESD porcelain from Japan. ESD stands for Economic Sustainable Development. It has been well understood on a global level, for many decades, how important specialized talents, artistry, and artifacts contribute to the culture of a nation.
In all cultures – we help to protect and reflect our future, by preserving our past.
Cultural dimension is closely tied to sustainable development. Although there are many definitions and descriptions surrounding both culture and sustainable development, essentially culture is about creativity, heritage, knowledge and diversity.
Sustainable development is defined as economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources.
It is the cultural aspect of our Canadian heritage that has created the drive and energy to set up, photo document, and share the Quiet West collection, which is essentially a portfolio of twentieth century design.
Costume and jewelery design has always reflected the wider movements in arts and culture in the various different eras. Therefore, we see similarities in everything from architecture, to furniture design, in the visual arts, and in costume and personal styles.
During the modernist era of influence, we see sleek lines and geometrical shapes, in sharp contrast to the turn of the century romanticism with all the floral themes, vines, and curlycues. In spite of the fact that art is highly subjective and involves personal taste, certain design themes caught on and swept the cultural stage for periods of time. What was considered avant-garde in one era, might turn into a widespread movement in a few short years.
During the post war years Canada provided many incentives for creative fashion and textile designers, many of which were developed in Montreal and Toronto. We have a rich and creative history based on the talent from Montreal, and the incentives that were provided to develop and promote this talent. It is something all Canadians can be proud of.
Thankfully, with the migration and travel to Canada’s west coast, a percentage of these stylish remnants and works of art ended up on the west coast.
In addition to the fashion design and trends throughout the twentieth century, most of the luxurious textiles and sewing techniques have become obsolete. There is a rich history and knowledge base in the textiles alone. This involves everything from hand loomed, hand and screen printing, knits, gold and silver lame costumes, and wide variety of trim, pin tucking, laid work, embroidery, laces, etc.
In addition to our own fashion development heritage, and the widespread travel during the twentieth century, we have also had access to mid-century designs from locations throughout the world. Some of the mid-century gowns had a thousand hours or more put into the embellishments using glass beads and a variety of sequins.
The best definition of culture according to a Google search is: ” Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, art.”
Culture is also considered to be the fourth pillar of sustainable development, according to UNESCO and several other organizations promoting sustainable development. It does take time, effort and money to document and preserve our cultural heritage. But it does not deplete or make demands on natural resources.
In the case of coloured gemstones used in artisan sterling silver jewelry, those designs depict the country of origin, the various artists, and gemstones that were at one time fairly abundant. A high percentage of the turquoise mines are now closed. The post war years led to a great deal of extraction of the earth’s resources. Understandably those resources have been used up, and the new locations for extracting them are increasingly difficult to access.
At least in my own lifetime, there has always been a focus on what is new. The old was considered to be junk or garbage, while the new was what was coveted and thought to be an improvement.
It seems we reached a point many years ago, where the old was often better than the new when it comes to certain cultural commodities. The reason for this is not only in the access to and abundance of these resources, but also in the values surrounding workmanship, craftsmanship, quality, and competition for excellence.
One only needs to look at some of the mid-century costume jewelery and compare it to what is made today. From the 1930’s to the 1960’s there was fierce competition to create fashion jewelery that emulated the real thing.
Designers like Gustave Sherman, Boucher, Panetta, Schreiner, and Trifari are just some examples of jewelery makers who valued high quality, and strived to make glamour more widely available by emulating Cartier and other famous designers. The goal was to make fabulous high fashion jewelery that was affordable for the average person. They did a great job of creating an appeal for glamour in the mass consumer markets.
When it comes to design, resources, and craftsmanship, there comes a point where the old will never be produced again, to the same standards it was in the past. We passed the point of creating new and improved fashion and jewelery.
In fact, if you closely examine the newer jewelery, you will find that even the expensive items are gold or silver plated. The gemstones and Swarovski crystals are often very small and highly treated, as opposed to some of the rocks we can marvel at in the earlier pieces.
Our culture is not only about obsolete textiles, hats, jewelery, and the history of fashion design during past decades, it is the soul of our nation.
We don’t lose our soul to fast fashion or slapstick designs. We are wise to carry the cultural soul and reflections of our past forward. After all – we want to keep our soul. It is not something to damage, disregard, or downplay.
In my opinion, all of our cultural gems are captivating and deserving of our care and attention.
On this note, I will soon promote and share a sample of the Montreal fashion designer Hugh Garber. In the 1960’s he studied fashion design in London, and then returned to Canada to develop the “holiday line” for Margo Dress Co. in Montreal.
The Hugh Garber outfit I have to list next, is from the 1968-1969 holiday line, and is made of a deluxe heavy vertically aligned gold lame. It has the appearance of a full length glamour gown, but it is actually a hot pants set. There are covered buttons down the front that open up to short, high waisted gold lame hot pants. It’s really quite a delightful ensemble!
The Hugh Garber gold lame hot pants will be featured under New Arrivals, and also in a blog post once the photography is done. I am fairly certain there is not another one like this one to be found.
It seems more and more of the upscale new jewelry is gold plated, or vermeil. Most of us know the karat markings on gold jewelery. But apparently some people have been taken in when buying what they think is gold, when it is gold-plated or vermeil.
Sometimes gold metal jewelery is described as gold plated, but it is simply gold tone metal, often brass with no gold content at all. The mark on gold plated jewelery is simply G.P. and for gold fill G.F.
The lowest quality and quickest to wear off, is gold-plated. It looks great in pictures when it is brand new, but eventually the very thin layer of gold wears off. If it is a ring or an item worn often, it may wear off within a year. The base metal underneath is often copper or a mix of metals. This type of jewelery may cause skin reactions in people who are sensitive. The reason for the reactions is likely due to a layer of nickel used in this type of electroplating.
The next on the list for appearance and longevity is gold vermeil, which is considered affordable, of good quality, and longer lasting than regular gold plating. Both gold vermeil and gold plated means the item is dipped in gold through an electroplating process. Vermeil is immersed longer and frequently uses sterling silver as a base metal. It is also hypoallergenic, and will not wear off for several years if cared for. However, it is unlikely to stand the 100 year test of time.
Gold filled is a layer of gold bonded onto a base metal, often sterling silver. It is durable, and the next best quality to the standard and much more expensive 12K or 14K gold. In this case, the hallmark indicates the karat as 1/20 14K G.F. or 1/20 12K G.F.
In the case of a G.F. beaded necklace, it means twenty of the beads would be equivalent to one 12K or 14K gold bead. The amount of gold used in the bonding process, is more than what is used for gold plated or vermeil. It is not likely to wear off on necklaces or bracelets, therefore is the best choice if you want the look of real gold without the price.
Whether it is brass, sterling silver or gold, all jewelery contains alloy metals. Often when people have reactions to jewelery, one of the alloys is the culprit. Nickel is the most common metal allergen. The plain electroplated G.P. is most likely to cause reactions for those who are sensitive to nickel alloys.
In the case of sterling silver, it is 92.5% pure silver, and usually has copper as an alloy, as opposed to nickel.
Brass consists mostly of copper and zinc, but can have a range of other metal alloys to make the colour, or sheen more interesting. Lead, tin, iron, aluminum, and manganese might be in brass metals. Some brass, especially antique brass with a copper alloy, can look very much like gold. It has been used for hundreds, if not thousands of years to emulate the look of real gold.
Antique and vintage jewelery provides an education in everything from base metals, to gemstones, designs, origins, markings, and makers. It’s a learning curve with lots of shine!
Disclaimer: This article is a personal opinion. In no way do I condone any sort of vandalism, violence, or unlawful destruction of property regardless of what they stand for. I remember reading about the existence of the Georgia Guidestone “henge” years ago, and found it chilling. But I never delved into it until now, to see what it actually might have meant.
Since the erection of those gargantuan slabs of granite, with their list of ten commandments far removed from any Biblical source, they have drawn a dark curiosity, a degree of confusion, a wonderment at the sheer size, and an in-depth satanic query.
It’s not as if this concept of an American stonehenge has prehistoric or ancient origins. It was erected in 1980 in the middle of nowhere, by unknown people with messages written by unknown authors.
What is known according to the tvtraveler.com website: “In 1979, a man using the pseudonym of “Mr. Christian” hired Elberton Granite Finishing Company to build the monument. It was commissioned on behalf of a “small group of loyal Americans” who wanted to remain anonymous. The stone workers, bankers and other vendors were sworn to secrecy.”
In addition to the messages inscribed into the slabs, this structure was built with openings at the top designed to act as a calendar and sun dial.
Furthermore, they apparently buried a time capsule somewhere west of the monument, which has a ground marker of some sort. Who knows what that’s about? Perhaps now would be a good time for someone to check it out. Dig deeper…
The messages or commandments were written in eight different languages, English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.
Going more into the language vortex surrounding this, and perhaps more meaningful overall – they also inscribed Babylonian cuneiform, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphics on the upper parts of these rocks. Wow – this ideology does in fact point back to Biblical times and the tower of Babel.
The definition of Babylonian cuneiform: “is Cradled by the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in what is today Iraq, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia established the earliest known society in which people could read and write. The script the Sumerians invented and handed down to the Semitic peoples who conquered Mesopotamia in later centuries is called cuneiform.Apr 13, 2022″
The tower of Babel goes back to Genesis 11: 1-9. During that time, the earth had one language. The people who had settled in Shinar, which is the southern region of Mesopotamia, decided to build a stone temple to reach to the heavens, and give it a name so they could worship it.
Therefore in unravelling some of the mystery around this, it does point back to the beginning of mankind, as well as to the beginning of language itself. In addition, it seems to be this man made rock formation was built in the linguistic shadow of the tower of Babel.
The goals or ten commandments listed on the slabs are as follows:
“1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.”
Now doesn’t that all sound so nervy nirvana? Let’s dissect the beast. Since God represents good, and Satan represents evil – let’s look at the essential meaning of these words.
The first rule is the most shocking as it is directed at a massive population reduction. In 1980 the world population was around 4.5 billion. Today it is 7.75 billion. This plot was obviously not put into motion between 1980 and now. However, considering the amount of upheaval and death in the world, and catastrophic change, in just this past few years – maybe the plot is now in motion. The marauders and murderers behind such a scheme have an awful lot of work to do.
Does climate change align with the balance of nature? In some people’s minds, I am sure it does. However, the word perpetual means never ending or unchanging. Therefore a perpetual balance with nature seems like an oxymoron, because nature has always been know for its upheavals and change. The perpetual balance with nature is an arrogant affront to both nature and God – as well as the nature of God. As if these arrogant men believe they can tame and balance what God cannot. Are they ever in for a surprise.
The second rule to “guide reproduction, improving fitness and diversity wisely” immediately implies that individuals lose control over how, when and if they reproduce. Improving fitness and diversity seems to be a euphemism for eugenics, or perhaps trans humanism.
The third goal “to unite humanity with a living new language” seems very far-fetched. It is a sign of rebellion against God, going back to the tower of Babel. In my interpretation, this is in defiance of the fact God confounded the language and scattered them for building the tower of Babel. This is a reinvention of the same rebellious attitude. Using the term living as a description of the language, is a covert mockery and usurping of God’s word.
The fourth goal on the list to “rule passion, faith, and tradition with tempered reason” is a bit of a head scratcher. The use of the term “tempered reason” is quite scary. In other words, they plan to rule religion and faith with force. As we progress through the meanings of these ungodly rules, the overarching message is one of tyranny and use of force, even though it is all shrouded in euphemistic outlines.
The fifth “protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts”. Again the question is who rules, and who decides how to protect people with fair laws? Clearly this is a contradiction to rule number one. They must be inferring a post population reduction type of rule over the 500 million people still alive after they execute the devious scheme. Do they really believe they could kill off over 90% of the population, and then suddenly turn into fair and just rulers of a utopian world? Anyone who conjures up something like this, is not going to change its stripes, except on the surface to deceive people.
The sixth “let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.” Once again, it is all about a ruling elite making the decisions for the rest of the world.
The seventh “avoid petty laws and useless officials” just shows their arrogance. Who decides what is petty and useless?
The eighth “balance personal rights with social duties”. Once again, this must be a rule for the remaining population after they do the reduction. It sort of sounds like slavery.
The ninth “prize truth, beauty, love – seeking harmony with the infinite”. Again, it is a covert denial of the existence of God, attributing what is good to the “infinite” instead of to the creator and one true God.
The tenth wraps it up with “be not a cancer on the earth, leave room for nature, leave room for nature.” This final assault on the sanctity of human life calls most of us a cancer on the earth. Why would people not be considered to be part of nature? In God’s eyes, not only are we a part of nature, He told us we are to have dominion over the earth. Not to defile or pollute it, but to sow and reap, to work the land, to go forth and multiply.
Somehow these guys got it backwards in comparison to what God teaches. But what is really interesting, is how much those towers of destruction point back to Genesis, the tower of Babel, the great flood, and the beginning of languages.
From a conceptual framework spanning the history of mankind, there is a monumental significance.
Ultimately it represents a span of God’s timelines, perhaps showing how He will destroy this modern day takeover of the earth, and teach those who set up such atrocities a very important lesson. The words on those slabs over ride God’s word in every way. But they will not get away with any of it.
In reality, the dark side of humanity is in full force. However, the elitist and arrogant rulers are hanging on by a thread. It is like they are suspended over the abyss by their puppet master, with nothing but a slippery layer of soil to hold them up. When they fall, it will happen suddenly – and their outlook will change dramatically.
As it is with all of us, their fate too, could literally be minutes, hours or weeks away. Many are circling the drain into the abyss, without realizing when the game is over, they are done. Not just dead and gone done, but they actually do get to go to hell and back.
We are all appointed to die once, and then comes judgment. If people are afraid of dying a natural death, they are missing the point. The second death at the time of judgement is going to be the real downer – and a heated one at that. So they might as well enjoy their caviar and fine wines now, because they won’t get room service where they are headed.
There is no justification for any kind of sneaky acts of destruction from man. It’s too bad the granite towers didn’t fall in an earthquake, or other natural disaster. But nevertheless, the modern day tower of Babel is now a pile of rubble. Is that a bit of foreshadowing for the rich rulers of the world?
I think the most succinct response or summary of the ten commandments carved into those granite towers can be reduced to a half a dozen words. God is infinite – Satan is not.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
For anyone embarking on an E-Commerce store, shipping is one of the biggest challenges. Each country potentially has covid delays, and/or limits to what you can send to certain locations.
For example India restricts jewelery and textiles. I sent a pair of Chanel sunglasses to India via Canada Post without a problem. However, when I looked up what is restricted, I noticed they have more limitations on what you can send there, compared to Europe or Australia.
In other cases, with Canada Post shipments to Australia, Tasmania, and France, the order did get to the customer eventually, but in a couple of cases, it took a very long time, like two months or more.
Recently I sent a brooch to Hong Kong. Three months later, without any prior notification of a problem with the delivery, I got a parcel pick up notice from Canada Post in the mail. I was perplexed, because I had not ordered anything.
On the same day, I got a message from the customer saying she was still waiting, and the tracking number indicated it was still in Canada. So I knew what the parcel was. It actually did go to Hong Kong, and then was returned with a tick box “insufficient address”.
Canada Post did not offer a refund on the shipping, which was around $50.00. I contacted the customer to clarify the address. It was correct. So I contacted some other shippers.
There is a significant cost difference between UPS and Canada Post. For the most part I have used Canada Post without a problem. I have learned, they are most reliable when sending within North America.
In the case of sending the pin to Hong Kong, using the same address, it cost over $100.00 to send it UPS. But they managed to get it there in just a few days, which was a huge relief. What I don’t understand is why it got there okay using the same address as when I sent it via Canada Post.
Thankfully the customer was patient, and she let me know this morning, it finally arrived in good condition.
The lesson learned is for International orders, UPS is more expensive, but much quicker and far more reliable. In addition, if the item is flagged for some reason regarding customs, or the address is questionable, UPS will notify you before it even gets out of the country. They will also give a refund, minus a handling charge, if they cannot deliver it.
In another case, a customer returned a dress from the US that did not fit her. When I went to pick it up, Canada Post charged over $50.00 in customs fees. I told them its origin was Canada, and it was a returned item. But it made no difference.
When I picked up the brooch from Canada Post after its long journey to Hong Kong and back, thankfully they did not charge me an additional $50.00 customs fee, on top of the non-refundable shipping charge.
UPS uses their own planes, and a single tracking number – therefore the shipment is more streamlined, less likely to get lost, etc. They also communicate the status of the order quite often, which can be shared with the customer.
In summary, I will still use Canada Post for North American orders. But for International orders, I will take the items to UPS for delivery. Eight or nine weeks is far too long for the customer to wait for something they have already bought and paid for.
In the case of the Hong Kong order, Canada Post might have been cheaper, but they did not get it there, and they gave no refund. If you send them a support ticket, you “might” hear back two or three weeks later.
It took three months to send it to Hong Kong and back. During that entire time frame, I did not hear a word from Canada Post, and assumed the order got there okay. After retrieving it and walking over to UPS, to my surprise, it got there within a matter of days. It is a huge difference when it comes to efficiency, reliability, confirmation, and peace of mind.
The item was sent UPS on Friday June 24th, with an expected delivery date June 27th. I was skeptical, after the three month ordeal with Canada Post.
But sure enough – they delivered it just as they said they would. What a relief. It was a lovely Schreiner sunflower brooch that finally reached its destination!
We seem to be going through a time of great controversy over what is reported in the news, versus what is actually going on. Can we trust the news? In Canada, it is pretty much state owned, so we also have to ask if we trust the government.
Governments are made up of large numbers of people, and like all professions, there is a mix of good and bad among them. But, like big corporations, the leaders of those organizations create the agendas, set the policies, create the rules, develop the culture, share their values, or lack of values, and are driven by a galaxy of crossed motives. Some of it we see, but most of it we can only surmise. Although most are driven by profit, total power and control is the real goal. Greed is a type of addiction, like trying to fill the void of a bottomless pit.
Power and control on the other hand, involves stealth, planning, double-crossing, abusing power to gain an advantage, collusion with like minded people, conglomerates, king pins, fast talkers, and street smart wolves. Are they at peace though?
You see – money by itself is never enough. When couples go through acrimonious divorces centred on money, what is really at the core of the conflicts? Power.
Power is more seductive than money, because power is what drives the ego of greed and idolatry. Power shows you have wealth, influence, high intellect, clout, or whatever you want to call it. It is the protection and projection of pride and ego. The quest for ultimate power burns up a great deal of energy. It is a waste of energy, because true leadership comes from harmony and cooperation, not sheer force of one will against another.
So we could safely say we are facing a crisis in leadership. If the laws, ethics and mainstream journalism are bent on manipulating public perception based on deception and ulterior motives, it shows. They cannot hide it because the systems are too complex to be laden with falsehoods without collapsing.
Our foundation has to be based on truth, or it crumbles. The systems cannot function if they do not follow orderly principles, including ethics. Truth stays constant, but lies need more and more layers to keep the lies afloat. The increasing levels of complexity are meant to befuddle and distract us. But since things are interconnected, the lies or lawlessness has to transfer from one system to another seamlessly in order to be believed. They don’t, therefore more and more people see through the deception.
To be fair, the rich should not face broad generalizations about their characters, just as poor people should not be judged, or called losers. Not every wealthy person is a scoundrel. But if wealth is acquired through deception and exploitation, it creates one crisis after another, along with a great deal of conflict.
It used to be the news, and the government had some degree of ethics and credibility. They cared about public perception enough to present themselves as honest and ethical, with a few exceptions that the public could tolerate. But now, they have so much power and control, they don’t seem to care what the public thinks. In fact they simply want to punish people for thinking “wrong” about what they are trying to pass off as news.
There is an angle for managing public perception through the use of polls. But polls are easily biased, ask questions to get a specific response, and will provide rewards to get a desired response. So are they the least bit accurate when it comes to widespread public opinion?
News has always been based on sensationalism, but the health care and health scare tactics are now taken to the extreme. If we are covid deniers – it is like denying some kind of deity. Personally, after reading volumes of news on the subject, I hardly believe any of it.
At first I did believe there might be a nasty strain of flu or respiratory virus. I worked in health care, and knew there were cycles, and every few years a particular virulent strain would emerge. I was well aware that many of the elderly would die if they caught a nasty virus. I also knew throughout the time I worked as an RN, that it was very difficult, if not impossible to isolate or treat a specific virus. Therefore treatment was usually based on symptoms.
As I have followed the news, I am still not convinced there is an accurate diagnostic test for covid, and seriously wonder if it ever has been officially isolated and identified. Since covid seems to have every symptom in the book now, much of it comes across as hyperbole and bias. A respiratory infection caused by a virus in the same family of viruses as the common cold, somehow morphed into a pervasive disease. Like the virus that ate the world. It just doesn’t seem the least bit logical from a medical perspective. Nor does it seem truthful based on observing the world around us.
Now every sniffle, and even asymptomatic people who are perfectly healthy, are diagnosed with covid. Meanwhile, people are dying while waiting for emergency services, or any kind of health care service. Covid matters, but nothing else does. Hmmm. But why?
How many people ever recall a pandemic going on for more than four or five months? We don’t have to be epidemiologists, virologists or experts to doubt the logistics of what they are telling us. They shame us for not believing it, yet we would be fools not to question it by now.
I don’t recall a time when there was so much censorship, and refusal to have open debates about our views. Instead alternative views are called unacceptable, or misinformation, or against community guidelines. The other day I posted a comment on FB about the travel restrictions and mandates in Canada that read: But how can we trust the government when they change the rules every second day? FaceBook banned the comment, and sent me a warning that they would remove my account. Not that I really care. But still. Was it an outrageous comment given the circumstances?
People have on average sixty to eighty thousand thoughts per day. We cannot be thought reformed, even if we do comply with orders. If they make no sense, people are going to think about it, and then talk about it.
Naively, I used to think the moderators on various publishing platforms were sincere about screening out hateful language, name calling stereotyping to the point of bigotry, and of course any threats made. However, they too are showing extreme political bias.
There are so many things that do not make sense out of the entire covid narrative – yet we are continually steered to believe all of it. If we don’t believe it we are labelled as anti-vaxxers, anti science, anti-government, far right extremists, etc.
Oddly enough, I don’t consider myself to be extreme right or extreme left. I think the least corrupt government is the best option, since we need a balance of capitalism and socialism to meet societal needs. I consider myself to be centrist.
I do not understand why all opposition is called far right extremism. Don’t they know when there is a mentality of “us against them” or extreme polarization – there has to be two poles? Therefore they too are extremist in their views. Much more so than those they are accusing of being extremists.
Just based on observation, the extreme left seems to exhibit more violent crime, and unlawful extremism during protests. By extremism, I mean criminal conduct such as vandalism, church burnings, and wild stunts to protest climate change, logging, pipelines, etc.
Although violence is not limited to a left or right political viewpoint, there seems to be escalating levels of anger in general. In my opinion, anger is generally based on fear and betrayal. The feeling or emotion of anger may be justified, but violence is never justified. So how are people supposed to make a grievance known? Words. Debates. Logic. Established laws. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding do not come from corrupt leaders – yet we desperately need help and hope, if not for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren’s sake.
In my opinion it is very important to maintain control over what goes into our bodies, especially when it comes to an injectable medicine. Informed consent must be clung to with a fervour, not a fever. Clearly we each have unique genetics, and immune responses, based on a myriad of factors. Again, there should not be stereotypical generalizations when it comes to personal medical choices.
So how do people deal with the anger and polarizations we are faced with today? Is it possible to just go along with it all, without developing an opinion? How can we not formulate an opinion based on what we have seen unfolding during the past two or three years?
The corruption is so extensive, the people in power no longer care about exposure. They know that if it goes against the narrative, it won’t get far. They know there is no justice for those who are poor, weak, or even average.
One of the saddest things to hear over this past weekend, is news of a three hour wait for those who call an ambulance. Day by day, we are witnessing a collapse of the systems. Three hours is a long time to do CPR. It means if a person is bleeding, they will bleed out before they get help.
It’s quite traumatic to watch people die, especially if you feel helpless, or do not know what to do. Every minute waiting and hoping for help to arrive, seems like an eternity. It looks like it is time to promote first aid courses in every community.
The world has tipped over. The systems no longer serve the public. We are being hammered on a daily basis about health, vaccines, failing health, covid, variants, monkeypox – and yet the system can no longer handle the basics.
All we can hope for is that our loved ones do not get injured. Be careful! And for ourselves, self care, and hope that by the grace of God, we don’t fall into the jaws of a chaotic and broken system.
More pharmaceuticals are most certainly not the solution. I think it is best to take the news with a grain of salt, and realize most of it is now integrated with a massive pharmaceutical marketing campaign.
We should not be ashamed of using our minds, or voicing an opinion on behalf of public interests. However, the fact it gives us trepidation, is another sad reality and symptom of the times. It’s like we have been immersed in a B grade science fiction plot – and are not allowed to critique it.
In response to an article in the National Post about systemic racism, I wrote the following response, and it was rejected too. Here it is:
“Never mind the exclusive focus on race and gender. Target the bullies, the abusers, the lawless exploitations, especially of minors. Go after the criminals. Stop the corruption, scheming, and dominance over others based on power, control and raw greed. Make rich people accountable when they harm others. Make the big corporations, especially BigPharma move to arm’s length with the governments. Treat all people with dignity. Skin colour has nothing to do with our moral compass. Stop the stereotyping, so you can open your eyes to what is actually out there causing societal harm.”
If it was a movie plot, instead of reality – what genre is it in? Who are the heroes, and who are the villains? What is the theme, and all the motifs surrounding the plot? What are the sub-plots? Who are the leaders on the polarized spectrums? What is their true agenda? And most of all – how does it end?
Tall tales have short legs, and cannot run very fast. In the end – truth will beat the bad guys!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Fashion is a wonderful way to look at history. It embodies the mindset and artistic expressions of the various different eras. It occurs to me as I learn more, that the 20th century represents a span of artists and designers that may never be replicated.
In the early 1900’s women transitioned away from wearing the hooped caged underskirts, which made the skirt of their dress so wide, they could hardly sit on a chair. They abandoned the restrictive clothing, and opted for the flamboyant flapper era, within a span of a few years.
In today’s world you don’t often see people wearing corsets, unless it is in a burlesque or bondage show. But prior to the flapper era, the idea was to make a very exaggerated hour glass figure, with a tiny waist, often tightened to as small as twenty-two inches.
It was not uncommon for women to faint, therefore they carried smelling salts to revive themselves. What we will do for fashion. We probably all have recollections of wearing high heels to the point of agony.
So in the early 1900’s, not only did women have to wear wide hooped skirts, but corsets as well. When you compare it to today’s Lululemon attire, it is quite the distance we have travelled. Keep in mind, the women of the early 20th century, often had ten or twelve children, and few modern appliances.
The first world war contributed to dramatic changes in fashion. Women had to stay home and look after the farms, businesses, and homes. There was a bolstering of confidence. The suffrage movements were well known and widespread. The twenties styles were creative, bold and rebellious. They veered away from the hourglass look and wore straight dresses without any emphasis on the bust, waist or hips.
There was a brief period of time in the twenties when hobble skirts were the rage. They were long pencil skirts, almost ankle length, and very narrow at the bottom, with no back slit. It meant you had to walk like your ankles were tied together, taking very tiny steps. Some designs are just plain dumb.
From the 1930’s – 1950’s there was a certain daytime practicality. But even so, women wore gloves, hats, and developed a keen eye for matching what they wore. It was a time of Hollywood glamour, and war time escapism. The fifties brought about a revival of the hourglass figure and pin-up girls. They called it the “New Look” but it was really just a shorter revamped version of the turn of the century fashions.
Similar to the 1920’s, the sixties rumbled with unrest and civil disobedience. This also brought about a fashion revolution. The hourglass went out, the hemlines went up, and free love was ushered in. High class came in the form of beehive hair dos, white lipstick, black kohl eyeliner, and dresses so short you could not shrug your shoulders. We went from wearing silk stockings with a line up the back that you had to get straight on your legs before leaving the house, to the allure of fish net stockings.
The seventies carried the sixties cast offs to represent the cool, the hippie, and the bohemian. Women wore bell bottoms so long, and wide – that the bottoms frayed into a denim fringe. You could do a face plant, tripping over your jeans, just trying to cross the street.
It was still a time of fashion extremes, with maxi coats worn over mini skirts. But the beehive hair gave way to long, straight hair, parted in the middle. It was an au natural time, where the make up got toned down, and we grew bean sprouts under the sink.
The eighties emerged with even more extremes. Shoulder pads rivalled those worn by the Dallas Cowboys. Once again, the hair got big. Only instead of piled up beehives, it was backcombed and teased into tresses that no other decade would even attempt to pull off.
Materialism leads us to a place of easy boredom. Throw out the old, and bring in the new, is thought to be a progressive way of thinking. But is it? Maybe it was at one time – but cannot be sustained. Or maybe we should never have been so frivolous in the first place.
Now we face restrictions in supply chains, higher labour costs, fewer resources, mass production with poor quality control, and diminishing food security. People have more concerns than trying to be fashionable. The heyday could very well be behind us, until the time of the next millennium.
The earth has come to a point where the mass production is hitting the wall. In fact it has ebbed and flowed so much over the years, we are like chickens watching a game of ping pong.
Capturing and examining some of the 20th century designs, gives us a broader scope of culture and knowledge. There is so much to be learned from the designs of the past. Everything from textiles, to sewing techniques – to the identification of coloured gemstones, hallmarks, etc. Each has a story to tell.
The move into the 21st century brought increasing concerns about climate change, fossil fuels, natural disasters, pestilence and disease. The 20th century began January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. It really does represent a time span of prosperity and change.
From the perspective of change, regarding the roles of women – we are still hooped, and hobbled in some ways.
But instead of wearing the hoops, we have learned to jump through them – high heels and all!
With the rise in online sales and product photography – the ideal mannequin is as elusive as chaff in the wind. Just when you think you might have found one, it goes up in cyberspace.
The ghost mannequin is a concept that would make product photography more attractive. It would also make it easier to achieve a focus on just what you are trying to sell. You do not want to draw attention to the background, and could do without the quirks of a cheap mannequin.
Ghost mannequins are non-traditional mannequins that have multiple snap on parts, so you can remove sections that you do not want to show in the photographs. The only places to get ghost mannequins in North America – is New York and Toronto.
Unfortunately, since they have multiple magnetic parts and a metal stand, it means they are very heavy. This makes shipping a problem, because they are over seventy pounds. Plus one has to consider working with one, and the amount you have to move a mannequin around when space is limited. I am not convinced it would be worthwhile to have something so heavy to deal with.
Even without a ghost mannequin, there are ways to minimize and ghost the background, if you have the right light, angle, and camera lens. It is difficult to get even light throughout the entire image though.
In searching for a better fibreglass or plastic mannequin, based on my own experience, I think fibreglass is better. But if you drop an arm and it breaks, you have to discard the entire mannequin. They are quite tall and awkward to carry around. It looks weird to haul one around in your back seat, or sticking out of a trunk. You can’t just throw the old one away either. You have to find a home for it, or get it hauled to the landfill.
In doing product photography, you want to (at least I want to) line it up, so the garment looks symmetrical on the body. If one leg is forward, or if the mannequin is posed as though it was dressed for a shop window, it is not quite the same as a mannequin used primarily for product photography.
For anyone who pays attention to mannequins, see if you can find one that is facing straight forward, with both arms and both legs straight? They don’t seem to exist. Yet if one leg is forward, it tends to make the shoulders look off-kilter.
Another major difference between using a mannequin for display, and using it for product photography – is the number of times you dress and undress it. It is handled much more often when using it for photography. In contrast, most window mannequin outfits are only changed every four to eight weeks.
The hunt for the ideal mannequin continues. The perfect plastique photogenic dream girl is out there somewhere!
Recent Quiet West listings show some mid-century examples of one of Montreal’s best kept secrets. Diamond Tea Gown Inc. is a Montreal based company that was started in the 1920’s by Mr. Rosenfeld. The company continues to make robes and causal wear to this day.
We know that in order to survive a century of change and upheaval – a company must have good quality and design. They have a stellar reputation, and some of their earlier robes and lounging sets are drop dead gorgeous.
Initially I was not sure if these sets were from the seventies or the eighties. Research indicates the Diane Deckel designs are from the 1970’s. She is listed in the Quebec fashion encyclopedia as having designed for Diamond Tea Gown in 1974. There is another jumpsuit and jacket to be listed in the next couple of days. It is exactly like the blue set only in pink floral. The jumpsuit sets have subtle stripes in the jackets, giving a shimmering transparent illusion.
There was a period of time in Canada’s mid-century fashion history when the government promoted and assisted Canadian designers to gain recognition and sales on a world stage. We can only hope to steer clear of fast fashion, and go back to our rich heritage that can be credited to the natural and enduring creativity ingrained among Montreal designers.
Diamond Tea Gown Inc. changed hands twice over the years. In 1967 the company was sold to Ernest Saykaly, owner of the family lingerie business French Maid. In 2001 it was sold to John Souaid who was an executive with the company since 1972.
The design and quality of fabrics earned them an International reputation throughout every decade since their start-up. Their retailers include Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, and Harrods.
The following are some examples of 1970’s Diamond Tea Gown designs by Diane Deckel. The first set is a cotton combination featuring a white muslin dress that has a pleated bodice, and subtle gold trim on the neckline and belt. The robe is made of a light cotton terry cloth. The sleeves on the robe are very detailed open weave with gold metallic highlights. This set is a two-in-one outfit, as the dress by itself is quite ethereal.
After photographing the pink jumpsuit, I stand corrected. It is similar but not the same as the blue jumpsuit set. It is a larger size and has longer, wider legs. The fabric is different as well, slightly heavier. You can see the designs were made in the same time frame, and by the same person. The ivory gown is the most unique in my opinion. But the floral designs look perfect for a warm summer evening on a private patio, or even a garden party in broad daylight! They will take you seamlessly from Zoom meetings – to sipping iced tea and watching the stars.
Misinformation is nothing new. What is new – is the attempt to tackle it, like it is a nimble and determined running back clinging to the ball, come hell or high water.
Misinformations lingers in the murky waters along with outright lies, profit motive, and many misunderstandings. How can anyone tell us what to believe? There is no such thing as believer clones. We can’t all hold acceptable views on everything from garlic to the efficacy of wind turbines.
Certain information can be defined as true or false. But there is a slew of misinformation floating in the health care slough. For almost any topic, you can find experts who will tell you the opposite of what you might tend to believe. Experts might tell us beans and tomatoes are pure poison. Seriously? A cardiologist, or celebrity who tells people at least half of all healthy foods are poison to our systems, and will put holes in our gut, should be viewed with skepticism. Does it matter what title this person has, or what the celebrity status is? Isn’t it natural to reject what does not makes sense or ring true to us?
Other health gurus will tell people to eat six eggs a day, or ten bananas, or ingest massive amounts of green smoothies – but does that mean we should listen to them?
Then we have the supplement gurus who are breaking the body down into chemical nanoparticles and telling people to take massive doses of trace minerals. Or they will announce the benefits of high concentrations of protein, or condensed greens in amounts way beyond what could be consumed in a normal diet.
Rule of thumb – don’t ingest anything that you would not eat in your diet. For instance if you buy fresh squeezed orange juice that took a dozen oranges to make, don’t ignore the fact that oranges were meant to be eaten with the fibre. Normally you would not eat ten of them, so the moral of the story is to drink minimal amounts of juice.
The same thing can be applied to green smoothies. In my opinion, it is better to eat salads because chewing is a big part of the digestive process. Also many people do not realize that anything in excess can cause liver, kidney, or gut health problems. For people who have their jaws wired shut, then a diet of smoothies does make sense. Otherwise it is better to eat the fibre, chew the food, and eat a variety of healthy foods.
The fact is, misinformation and outright lies about certain health care products, medications, foods, reverse aging, muscle building, can lead to gut retching wretches. Misinformation has proliferated like rabbits since the Internet was invented. Until now, no one really cared or even tried to stop it all.
You can find experts on the Internet who will tell you to drink a cupful of oil followed by a half a cup of vinegar, and various other concoctions. Some people get desperate to solve health issues, but seriously, people should be very wary of anything you would not get out of a healthy diet.
Without a doubt, food is our best medicine. But that does not mean we avoid half the healthy foods available to us. We do not have to demonize gluten or any other healthy food. We should listen to our own bodies and avoid what bothers us, not what some expert tells us to do.
If misinformation on the Internet is to be tackled as the new buzz is telling us it should be, then there is a massive amount of information to be censored.
The only thing we can do is to develop our own intuition and sensibilities giving us direction with regards to what to accept, and what to reject. We are bombarded with information, therefore we need a massive filtering system.
Recently on one of the food show clips, a woman showed how to stop mold and bacteria from growing in fresh berries. The trick is to wash the berries in a solution of vinegar and water. She shows how to rinse, pat dry and store them. So far, so good. At the end of her berry blurb, she said they were good for two weeks in the fridge.
I only just learned about the vinegar trick, and normally wash berries in mild detergent and water. Before trying it, I would question whether or not the vinegar destroys any nutrients in the berries. The thing that raised a red flag for me, is that most perishable fresh produce does not have a two week shelf life. No way. Fresh berries, and other types of delicate produce should be eaten optimally within three days. Even if the vinegar does work to eradicate mold, it would be prudent to use the berries within seven days at the most. All of this pondering of course, is just my own opinion on something I recently viewed. It is an example of how we might interpret something we happen to see on the Internet.
To further enhance the berry discussion, we might consider if the vinegar would affect the flavour. Also of significance is where the berries came from and how fresh they are to begin with. It is much different if they came from your own garden, as opposed to another continent. Certain things are already several days old before you bring them home from the store. So potentially allowing a window of three weeks for berries is probably not wise.
I think we can take the good, and leave the parts we don’t want to digest. I most certainly want to avoid mold, so I am glad to have come across the tip.
The perishables with a long shelf life are things like carrots, turnips, beets, and other root vegetables. Some tomatoes will last more than a week if they are not ripe to begin with. Avocados I have learned, are best when allowed to ripen, and then put in the fridge when they are ripe, if you are not ready to use them. They do not ripen properly in the fridge.
We can simply ignore what does not apply to us. Or can we? How can we ignore any of it, if it is being forced upon us on a daily basis? Would we be inclined to believe a scientist, or a politician, or an expert with a specific agenda? Why should we have to believe those people?
Why should a mechanic have to be a microbiologist? Why should healthy people be sucked into the sickness industry, when the system is too sick to look after those who are really sick? Why should the general public be responsible for the allocation of health care funds, specifically ICU beds and delayed surgeries? The average person does not even know how the system works.
Since the onset of covid, all the chemicals and scientific mumbo-jumbo are suddenly sacrosanct. I would specifically like to know more about the lipid nanoparticles, and how they might glom together and wreak havoc in certain vital organs. I would like to have a better understanding of spike proteins, antigens, antibodies, and viral variant diagnostic tests.
But what is the point of following any science, if half the information is censored or withheld? Doesn’t that make following the science somewhat futile?
What about the new and modern day linguistic gymnastics? Oh right, that’s not science…A hoop is a hoop. Jumping through them leads to more head patting hoopla.
Sheesh…If we spent our days following science, how would we get anything else done? Go ask our infamous PM. Surely he must be following his own advice.
PS There is a riddled enigma in this article, and it is up to you to figure it out!
Putting together this online store has been quite a task. One of the key criteria in the quest for quality and timeless products, has been to make sure the item is not made in China.
Admittedly, there are a few 1950’s-1960’s products that were made in Hong Kong. In fact some gorgeous embroidered, and beaded garments from that era still exist. Like all countries, China has talented designers, and has made beautiful garments. After all, they have a much longer art history than North America does.
Therefore, to make a distinction on what is to be avoided – it is the modern and prolific fast fashion that is made in China to bypass. Since most of the mainstream fashion we see in departments stores now, is made in China, there is much less of the talent and workmanship emerging from other countries. The competition and pricing has pushed many designers out of the mainstream markets.
France and Italy have always topped the list when it comes to high fashion. Canada, specifically Montreal can showcase fashion design on the world stage with confidence. Australia has a few famous designers, but the products are less likely to be found on the west coast of Canada.
Almost everything in the Quiet West collection is carefully checked to make sure there is a country of origin label. On older garments, sometimes the labels are non-existent. The fabric content labels were not required by law prior to the 1970’s.
The issue of licensing created a huge shift of high end designer items from the original European country of origin to the cheaper labour markets in China. With experience, it is fairly easy to identify luxury brand items that are made in China. In my opinion, licensed items should be described as such and the price adjusted downward.
What has happened over the years, is a shift to more casual wear, and in that case, who cares where it was made? But as we become increasingly aware of the petrochemicals used in creating fast fashion, and become more environmentally sensitive while making purchases, our priorities might be shifting. In addition, it seems the quality has been steadily deteriorating on most new products.
Our world is being shaken to its core now. With growing civil unrest and protests across the globe, we are shocked to watch it unfolding before our eyes. Now things are escalating in Europe in ways that make no sense. These recent events remind us of how fragile we are from a geopolitical perspective, as well as how susceptible we are to government overreach.
I believe fashion represents the art and culture of a country, and that much of that expression can be lost if we don’t collect it, showcase it, and share it with those who appreciate it. Although we may feel obscure and irrelevant, we are still part of the country we live in. We do not know what tomorrow may bring.
We live in a different world now, yet we can put together an outfit that was worn during the second world war. The outfits from the first world war still exist, but are few and far between.
Talented designers and optimal conditions are created within a window of time. In many cases an artist will peak and do some of his/her best work and then suddenly, they retire or die. Certain pieces become iconic.
One thing for certain is that is is increasingly difficult to find original labels made in France, Italy, Japan, or the USA. I do see more from Canada and the US because of where I live, however certain very upscale labels are still few and far between.
Often major political shake ups lead to changes in fashion trends. The 1930’s and 1940’s had many elements of high glamour and escapism. Women would try to emulate the look of various movie stars, and wore slinky embellished dresses with delicate face veils.
Will we all be able to emerge from covid mandates back into a full social life? Will we see an upsurge in creativity and design? Or will we have to hold onto the past, to show a shopwindow of what our lives used to be like?
Will we slip into fashion obscurity, staying at home in our pyjama bottoms, and fleece tops during lockdown after lockdown? When going out, high heels and blue jeans are good for any occasion.
The pendulum does swing from extreme to extreme. Extreme polarities tend to put us into a spin. But if we look at human nature and all of history, we are fashionistas at heart. Costume is part of life.
Vintage fashion is about story and history. It embodies the yarns of the centuries weaved into the motifs with symbolism and meaning. The colour and range has been flaunted by beautiful women since the beginning of time. In that regard – some things never change.
If you see something you like on the Quiet West website, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to make an offer. The email address is quietwest@yahoo.com.
What started out as a positive and anticipatory movement that seemed to have widespread support from Canadians coast to coast, is now a condemned and criminal operation. Is there anyone who can explain to us how it happened to turn criminal? When did it happen? What did they do that was illegal and criminal?
As a person with no experience in attending or organizing protests, it is next to impossible to understand what the laws are surrounding the protest. Why did they get so much condemnation and punishment? Other protests have been much more violent, where people clearly defied trespassing and Criminal Code laws, yet many of those political activists did not get punished much at all.
Each day raises more and more questions. If people suddenly had bank accounts frozen for sending money to the organization, it means that not only are the protesters targeted, but also those who saw it as a worthy cause and donated money. How could anyone know they were donating to something illegal?
As far as border blockades, no doubt laws do apply, and get enforced. But the protest in Ottawa did not have much clarity with regards to what was legal and what was not legal. The horn honking became an issue, and a ten day injunction was ordered. When it came to the judges orders, apparently she did not find any other charges to enforce, other than a reprieve from the horn honking. So what happened?
After the injunction was issued, for the most part, they did stop honking. The leaders told them to stop honking. They were not counselling people to commit mischief, if honking is considered to be mischief.
I do not understand it. At some point it became illegal. Yet there was no definition other than mischief, which in spite of sounding like a minor charge, can be a very serious charge. Then there is counselling to commit mischief, which is highly subjective. What does it actually mean? I heard people singing Oh Canada a lot while watching live feeds of the protest each day.
There was some rebellion expressed by the protesters, like when hundreds of jerry cans were purchased after police started seizing fuel. Some of the protesters did a jerry can march, but really it was just minor theatre. The fuel was needed to keep the trucks warm, so people wanted to make sure they would not freeze. Was that mischief?
Another term frequently used by the truckers was to “hold the line”. Would a slogan be considered to be counselling to commit mischief? I suppose as time went on, the fact they planned to stay for the long haul was causing important people to become aggravated. The intent was articulated. They were staying until they were acknowledged and heard. It became an annoyance to the PM, the Mayor of Ottawa, and many others.
It seems the sequence of events sums up like this: The protesters were denied a voice, and were vilified at the onset. They dug in, and became annoying. The annoyance was translated into mischief. The mischief became criminal. Key organizers were arrested without bail. It’s almost like something you might read about in history books.
Now Canadians are under the War Measures Act, and once again, we don’t fully understand what that means. We have been getting all the mandates dictated to us through the media. Every day there are more covid updates telling us what we can and cannot do. Otherwise how would we know?
But one of the raw realities this entire scenario has brought home to us, is the unreliability of MSM to present unbiased news. There is a fundamental mistrust of the media, as well as the police. It appears the division between government authority, and the common person has become increasingly divisive.
Canadians are known for being peaceful and law-abiding. But how can we be law-abiding if the laws are changing constantly, and we do not know what they are from one week to the next? What are the laws under the War Measures Act? What does it mean to the average citizen?
Can people donate to charities? What if those charities do not support mandates or QR codes? Could the charitable donations be seized, and bank accounts of all those who make donations frozen? Theoretically this could apply to all churches, and any charity considered to express right wing views. Even though some people do not fully understand political terminology, they could inadvertently support something they thought was legal, yet it could be deemed illegal a week later.
We already know doctors and health care providers cannot speak out against the mandates. We know we must follow a one-sided science that is not open to being questioned or challenged. As the mistrust for the health care system increases, the mistrust for the police has increased since the crackdown in Ottawa.
During the whole ordeal, where so many people were traumatized by the police actions, we watched many eloquent speeches in the House of Commons. But what did we learn? We learned how broken and divided the political spectrum has become. We learned how insignificant we are as Canadian people. We have lost our political innocence.
At the end of the long and tiring ordeal, where many of the systemic fissures and cracks were exposed – we still don’t know what the laws are. How are people supposed to stay out of trouble if they do not know what the laws are?
The original and foundational laws are gone. We now have covid mandates based on covid science, and covid politics. But still – we do not know what the laws are, so please fill us in.
Have we entered the time where certain thoughts and beliefs are not acceptable? Tell us what they are, and what the punishment is for having them. Consider that eight billion people have around 80,000 thoughts per day each – that is an infinite number of thoughts to track. Most people have a hard enough time keeping track of their own thoughts.
We cannot possibly understand what drives other people’s belief systems. We seem to be entering an era of delusion and fantasy, versus truth and reality.
We do have many differences, but it does seem that the innate sense of autonomy and free will is an inherent belief among people in all countries of the world.
People are monitored by Internet usage, social media, QR codes, and cell phone tracking. But even so, how boring.
Maybe I am missing something, but from what I have seen, there is a genuine and heartfelt appeal behind all of this freedom movement. There is a desire to return to the stable foundational laws that we are familiar with. There is an appeal to the government to follow the Constitutional laws and Charter of Rights.
“Cornerstones of democracy include freedom of assembly, association and speech, inclusiveness and equality, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights.”
Politically I consider myself to be centrist with strong advocacy for human rights and individual autonomy. In fact, I believe the least corrupt government is the best option. The most important thing is to support stable, lawful governance that serves the best interest of its constituents. Then we can live our lives, and reach our potential – without being oppressed, monitored, or micro-managed.
The woke government tends to support the 1% fringe groups, because on the upper end, when it comes to corporate billionaires, it is perceived as the hand that feeds them. On the other hand, they completely miss the boat when it comes to the fact it is the middle class tax base that feeds them the most consistently. However, they cater to the 1% in all of its extremes, whether it is the billionaires, or the various other fringe, and often bizarre special interest groups. They support such groups because they represent no threat to the government power structure.
However, a larger, grassroots movement with exponential growth among all sectors of the population, does represent a threat to the government leadership. It has created an especially stark realization with regards to the trouble we are in as a democracy. We have just witnessed a government that refuses to negotiate, and resorts to violence toward its own citizens instead. The War Measures Act was ordered, and then put into place without parliamentary debate, and without the support of most of the Provinces.
How can a government control a nationwide movement? It caught on like a prairie grass fire on a hot, windy August day. It literally swept across the country, not only in the convoy of trucks, but in an awakening of shared values. It opened the floodgates of a psychological break out.
As Canadians, we have followed those routes, back to our roots. As a child, I clearly recall standing up and saying the Lord’s Prayer in school every morning. I remember the flag above the speaker on the wall, as we held one hand to our foreheads, and in unison recited, “I salute the flag. The emblem of my country – To thee I pledge my love and loyalty.” It was during these recitals, where I remember feeling a belonging to something much larger than myself.
We sang the National Anthem. We know what it is to be Canadian. Many of us have ploughed the furrows of the fields, into deep set weather-worn brows. We recall being half frozen for months on end, and how we burst out with excitement at the first sign of spring thaw. We have watched the weather with angst, and worked sixteen hours a day during seeding or harvest time.
Some grew up in cities and rode their bicycles to every park and beach. Deep down, we all know what it means to be Canadian. We do have a reputation for being nice, and are generally tolerant and peaceful. We should be proud of that, and continue in the same vein.
Some ideologies lean more toward socialism, and some more toward capitalism. In reality, we need a healthy balance of both. Therefore we should take the good from each one, and reject the abuse of power and corruption that is prone to raise its ugly head, regardless of the political stripes.
I believe when things veer off too far to the left, or too far to the right – things become us againstthem polarized. When the polarities start to drive on the shoulders, and eventually hit the ditch, they actually blend together in the muddied waters below, losing all respect for boundaries. They create underground tributaries, instead of transparent policies.
I strongly believe the ideologies should pull away from the extremes, and find more centrist oriented stability, unity, and representation. Otherwise there is sure to be an erosion or destruction of the middle class. We are framed in by extremism. The middle class is the landscape or Canadian picture. So why should we trash the picture and keep the frame?
The extreme left is constantly accusing the extreme right of being violent and dangerous. Yet they are the ones who are armed, and out in droves beating on unarmed peaceful protesters.
Now it seems that protests are illegal, no matter what people do. This protest has taught or shown us many things. On the side of the freedom convoy, there has been some misinformation and sensationalism. In addition there was a certain amount of taunting and aggravation directed at the police. But all of those people were quickly overpowered when armed forces moved in on them.
Personally, I do not get involved in protests because I don’t like crowds. But I do believe in the right to peaceful protest. I think all people involved should know the boundaries and parameters of the laws, so they don’t expose themselves to risk, or getting in scuffles with police.
I do not believe people should flood emergency lines, or do anything that could impede critical infrastructures. Nor should any property be destroyed or vandalized.
It helps when people are incentivized to examine and commit to their own principles, beliefs and values. It seems really odd, to see a left wing minority government in Canada accuse people of being dangerous and violent, while simultaneously overpowering peaceful protesters with police, snipers, and various other weapons of war. The citizens were not armed. They were assaulted.
I hope and pray Canada is able to change course. We are in an emergency because of the dramatic and unstable leadership. We need the Constitution and Charter of Rights to be reinstated in all ways. We need to find ways to make the leadership follow the laws and democratic principles. The wheels of justice might grind slowly, and they might have chains for the slippery slopes. When those chains are cast off, we will see change.
Meanwhile the old adage stands true – There is pain in change. Let us pray it is for gain, and not for loss. Clearly, this is no longer about a pandemic.
I do appreciate the speeches given by Brian Peckford, as an original contributor to the drafting of the Canadian Charter of Rights.
I also support the proper medical support, follow up and research, when it comes to vaccine injuries. It is very important considering these drugs have not been widely used on the general population until recently. There is very little known about long term outcomes, or the mechanism of injury for those who do suffer adverse reactions. In the case of the elderly or those with chronic disease, it is even more difficult to determine if the adverse health event was related to the vaccines.
The medical professionals need to research, document, and understand why some people are vulnerable to adverse reactions and not others. In some cases, the injections target certain organs, and various bodily systems in catastrophic ways. We need to be sure the adverse reactions are properly recorded, with appropriate follow up and compensation.
This seems like a no-brainer, yet the health care system seems to be ill-equipped to diagnose or deal with the injuries. The skepticism among many has increased because the health care system and media are reluctant to report or track the adverse reactions.
My own background in health care has made me very wary of the pharmaceutical industry. I realize many doctors and nurses do not share my own beliefs in this regard. Yet I also know full well that many do. Once again, the objective middle of the road point of view, with a healthy dose of skepticism seems prudent to me.
Every major health care decision a person makes can be fraught with anxiety and fear. I strongly believe it is important for people to have trust in the ethics of health care providers. More so, every individual has to trust their own intuition, in whatever interventions, procedures or medications they choose to use. This applies equally to what they choose to refuse.
Informed consent is one of the most vital polices to retain in the health care field. We can only hope health care professionals will adhere the principle of First Do No Harm.
The medical field is not only mandated first do no harm physically – but in fact, that same ethical parameter applies as an admonition to avoid doing political harm as well.
We need to learn more, not only about drug reactions, but also about drug interactions. People over the age of sixty are often on multiple classes of prescription drugs. As more are added to the system, surely it must be important to track and learn about drug interactions.
How do we balance the interests of health and holistic values – with those of sophisticated and aggressive pharmaceutical marketing campaigns?
There are many issues to put forth for debate and policy making. Hopefully this latest and largest protest of all, will shine a light on the things that need to be addressed.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The recent protests and developments in Canada, and around the world, keeps us on the edge of our seats, glued to the drama as it is unfolding before our eyes.
In a sense it has opened a Pandora’s box, with all kinds of unspeakable realizations spilling out, more by the day. We thought we were living in a democratic country. Now we are jolted into a reality that tells us the opposite. We are heading in a direction we did not intend to go. We have no brakes, and no turnaround at the end of this plot.
As the tensions mount, it is spine chilling to know the government of Canada is prepared to attack unarmed citizens. The police are not supposed to be directed by the government, yet here we are. It is an untenable situation for all people involved in this, including the police.
On one hand, it seems there could be another big party in Ottawa this weekend, since there is talk of bands and various activities being planned. But in stark contrast, there is a heavy, armed police presence and some dirty tricks being employed.
In addition, the parliament was closed today due to reported winter weather conditions. They were supposed to be continuing the very intense debate surrounding the use of the War Measures Act. So who knows if all the required procedures and votes are going according to plan? There appears to be no rhyme or reason, when it comes to shutting down parliament or debates.
We are witnessing some deep fissures in our governance, especially when it comes to a minority government having the power to invoke such catastrophic measures over a peaceful protest in Ottawa.
The various inconveniences have been voiced. The fact there are big rigs parked, and large gatherings, noise, speeches, bands, and food being served could be an inconvenience, especially when there was a lot of honking. But does it warrant such drama and risk?
I just keep getting a clip of a movie reel snippet, where Trudeau stands up and slowly says, “We want to keep you safe”. It is a ball and heel grinding type statement now, and it makes one wonder if he means the opposite of every statement he makes. How could any leader order violent assaults, and armed attacks on innocent people?
In all likelihood, anytime there is a need for crowd control, or the potential for an act of violence like driving a truck into a crowd, or provocateurs stirring up violence, snipers are probably the norm. We are blindly unaware of many police and political operations. We assume that whatever measures are used, are actually in the public’s best interests. But now, the trust is damaged. The loss of trust will have a proportionate correlation to the amount of damage done.
What happens next? Party weekend or a weekend of attack and chaos? Or will everyone simply leave, and develop other strategies?
The undermining of trust in government and banking institutions in Canada is going to be far reaching, and could have unintended consequences. How can anyone donate to a cause even if it is a registered charity or a church, because you may have your bank account frozen if it is learned that the organization is against mandates, or QR codes? We don’t know if something is lawful one day, and then considered illegal the next day.
We think it is okay, and perhaps even a duty to participate in peaceful protests. Yet we no longer know if they will be deemed illegal. What is legal and what is not legal? Will unacceptable views be illegal in the near future, if not already?
Can views upholding fundamental freedoms and Canada’s Constitution really be seen as unacceptable by the PM of Canada? Is he saying that adhering to the Constitution and Charter Rights are unacceptable views? It sure sounds that way.
It is one thing to make generalized false accusations. People can see through that fairly quickly. But if there is an accusation of having unacceptable views, then we should be informed exactly what those unacceptable views are. Shouldn’t we? How can we avoid being faced with random and unexpected punishments for our views?
If someone waved a certain kind of inappropriate flag or symbol – then it is the individual doing it who is responsible for the expression of an inappropriate view. It does not reflect on the Canadian flag, or on anyone else in proximity to the wayward flag or sign. Pointing out a handful of incidents of inappropriate behaviours among a large group of people, does not justify making false accusations toward the entire group. If that were the case, a drive by shooting, or any crime in a community, would taint the entire community as being violent thugs, when they had absolutely nothing to do with the crime.
For example, if a person does not believe in clear-cut logging, or in pipeline expansion – is that an unacceptable view? Does it mean “those people” are responsible for acts of violence or illegal blockades they had nothing to do with? How do we protect innocent causes from being radicalized? How do we prevent them from being polarized? I certainly do not believe any cause should condone violence of any kind.
We are no longer naive as to the governmental power over us. If anything, this dramatic unfolding of events has shown us – is that we are not acceptable as human beings, or as Canadian citizens, if we do not go along with the government directives and mandates.
It is not illegal to refuse a vaccine, yet there are severe consequences if you do not get vaccinated. Informed consent is the law, so it is difficult to understand why adults are punished for refusing what they have a right to refuse.
Above all, this confrontation brings some very serious issues to the forefront. Those issues are being hotly debated in the House of Commons. There are lawyers, scientists, doctors, politicians, and lay people who are questioning the narrative, and rejecting the measures.
Today is Friday, and let us all hope and pray it is a safe Friday. Let’s hope there is nothing more than harmless parties, and dancing this weekend in Ottawa. De-escalation as opposed to escalation is the wisest approach. For those who cannot manage the stress, get some rest, take time away, and above all maintain peace and stability. Just pray they do not let anything spiral out of control.
The power of prayer, is always something we know we can count on, no matter how helpless we are feeling as we watch these events unfold.
The most difficult thing to process, is that now we know – Trudeau is not willing to act on behalf of Canadians. In fact, he is willing to set armed snipers pointing at protesters right in front of the Parliament buildings.
With the snow and weather conditions, combined with the heavy police presence, snipers and other weapons directed at people, what are we witnessing?
It is the surrealistic, phantasmagorical, outlandish outcome of a delusional leader drunk on power. Let us hope and pray the police do not use excessive force this weekend.
The debate in the House of Commons on this entire fiasco will continue until they put it to a vote. All we can hope for now – is that no one gets injured.
There is hope in freedom – and freedom in hope. The biggest challenge is to remain optimistic. The best we can do, is be of good cheer – have faith, encouragement, truth, love, charity, peace and self control. Peace, prayers and good will – even toward those we sharply disagree with.
What separation will there ultimately be? The wheat from the chaff. The bone from the marrow. The wheat from the tares.
Few things require more true grit than standing up for an oath, for a nation, for a neighbour, or for a child. It is a challenge to adhere to the principles of justice, fairness, and freedoms – when authoritarian forces are working against you.
So many people have put their livelihoods and reputations on the line, to do what they believe is right. Why? Because they have integrity and courage. We all have the capacity to rise to principle.
As soon as we stand up to the abuse of power, things get critical. By that I mean, there is a critical, accusatory, unfounded attack on whoever is threatening the power structure. They go into a verbal attack mode. They discredit and try to intimidate in every way possible. It is the psychological equivalent of slapping you down.
The government tolerates and even supports many fringe protests. They condone protests that do have violence, and all kinds of disrespectful damages to statues, monuments, public property, and local businesses. They support the smaller extremist fringe groups, because it is all theatre for them. They are supporting the concept of a particular cause, first and foremost. It is almost always something that is no threat to the political establishment.
Riots and church burnings, are a flash in the pan, from the government’s perspective. They actually seem to promote that sort of thing, because anarchy and chaos means we need more policing.
On the other hand, a huge freedom movement is a major threat to them, so it is pretty obvious why they would support one and not the other. The bigger, and the better organized the grassroots movement, the more of a nightmare it is for the oligarchs. Chaos gives governments more reason for cracking down, but peaceful protest does not. This is the most critical factor from a bigger picture perspective.
Our foundational laws were established to protect the fundamental freedoms of people living in a democratic society. The police swear an oath to uphold the Charter of Rights. They know the laws.
However, as with all professions and people in general, covid and mandates cause division, contradictions and conflicts. The police are given orders from their superiors, that may not correlate with what they know about the laws. In a sense they are being put in an unfair position, and many are walking on eggshells. Thankfully the crowd and the police have been keeping their cool for the most part.
Integrity is standing up for what you know is right, even if it means you ruffle someone’s feathers or get punished for it.
When Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – they did it anyway. Why? Because they had free will, even though God was near by, and was sure to find out. It was a decision that set the stage for the consequences of our our fallen nature. It also clearly established the doctrine of free will.
More than anything it meant that people, all of us, from the beginning of humankind, must discern the difference between what is right and wrong. We must figure out and differentiate between what is good, and what is evil.
If we are honest with ourselves, we know when we do what is wrong, and feel remorse over it. It teaches us to apologize sincerely, and to stop doing it. It’s not that we do what is right all the time, because we don’t. But we know the difference. We also know our fundamental rights and freedoms, and when they are being trampled on. If God does not take away our freedoms, how can man take them away? I really don’t think God will allow it.
One of the key differences between good and evil, is that those who aim to do good have the ability to admit mistakes or wrongdoing. Integrity therefore, is also about admitting wrongdoing, and changing what you have been doing. It means we all have the ability to discern, based on our own judgement, stemming from what happened in the Garden of Eden. God was angry and gave consequences, but he never did say that the good was taken away. It was a turning point relating to the knowledge of good and evil.
We have the ability to differentiate if we choose to. To me this really illustrates how God created us, clearly with free will. We do have guidelines in the Bible, in the laws, in the various declarations and agreements, and most of all – our intuition, our mind, our sensibilities, and our conscience.
Science is wonderful. So is art. Both are really quite subjective, and in some ways one reflects the other. We do not worship science. We are free to believe what we want to believe. Science is not sacrosanct. It carries a vast range of topics, so to make such a generalization is ludicrous. Some people are interested in sharks or marine biology. Others might be growing hybrid roses. To accuse people of not following the science, is almost laughable.
Guess what? We don’t have to follow the science. If I don’t want to put baking soda in the cake, so what? The cake might not turn out, and I’ll change my mind for next time. If you decide to use nail polish remover to take a stain out of a silk chiffon scarf, it might ruin it, and you won’t do it again.
Don’t we learn how to stay alive by following some science, some common sense, some advice, some experimentation – and most of all, by the grace of God?
Do we wake up every morning and think, “today I am going to be really good, and am going to promise to follow science”! I don’t know about anyone else, but I can honestly say that I have never once thought about following science. Even in science class!
I just put some fresh squeezed lemon juice in a cup of tea. Oh no! Maybe I am following science without even realizing it. Does lip gloss count as science? How about if it is Burt’s Bees?
Could you denounce people as being anti-art if you don’t like their taste in art? Could you accuse someone of being anti-music, if you don’t like their selection of music? If I write a book, do I have unacceptable views, if someone else does not like it?
Science may have tried and true principles, but there are many mysteries, and as many differences of opinions. Every person has the right to explore, and test whenever it is feasible – the various tangibilities, and intangibilities we come across in life.
Do we accept ideas – or reject them? Do we take this path down into the valley? Or do we head up over the mountain? It is not up to anyone else, any expert, any king, or any political leader – to tell us how to live our lives, and what, or who we choose to follow. It is untenable on all levels.
We don’t have to follow a virus. Nor do we have to be ruled by one. We are being ordered around by oligarchs speaking as though the virus is leading us with a viral leash. They are using it as an excuse to encroach upon democracy. They are cowards in every sense of the word because they will not admit what is driving them. They are claiming science is sacred, and we must not only believe what they say without questioning it, but follow it too.
If I could get a message to Trudeau, I would ask him quite frankly, “Who in their right mind sets out every single day to follow science”? Scientists set out to learn about their field of study. They apply certain standards and principles while doing their research. But I am quite certain that even scientists don’t wake up thinking about following science, or they might end up following themselves around in a circle.
Trudeau can go ahead and call me anti-science for my beliefs. I really don’t care. He might was well call me anti-buffalo because I would not let him herd me off a cliff either.
If we get to return the insults – he is unethical and anti Canadian. I hope he has the capacity to admit wrongdoing and drop the mandates. Who would have ever believed it would become such an astronomical battle?
Go back to the story of Adam and Eve and ask yourself – who has been beguiled by the serpent? And who is trying to do good, and restore the real law and order?
The number one principle in human ethics is to avoid the abuse of power. There is an old adage “You abuse it – you lose it.”
Let’s hope these axioms are strong like axles. Cause we are at a turning point!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As we fight for our freedoms, we listen to a litany of words being bandied about. Words that are banished. Words that dive deep into the gutter, and words that rise high above it all. Words that are delivered with powerful rhetoric and passion. If there are two sides of the freedom coin, one is living life to the fullest, and the other is constantly circling the drain. One side carries potential, and the other side is oppressed and exploited.
We are going to have to rely on words, and especially on the clarity of definitions, now more than ever before. Words can be twisted into a pretzel, or turn into a boomerang. They can be scripted and meaningless, with a repetitious robotic monotony. They can inspire or incite, create calm, or cause calamity.
Years ago as a young woman, I joined the White Rock Writer’s club. Almost everyone there was much older than I was, and almost all of them were writing about the war.
They told their stories about fleeing to Canada as war brides, and for the men, how they left families behind, in some cases young brides, and when reunited, often hardly recognized each other.
One woman was originally from Norway, and had been living and working as a journalist in London during the war. She had met and married a man she barely knew, which seemed to be quite common at the time. She was from a wealthy family, and ended up living in a wilderness cabin in central BC. When her husband finally returned from the war, they were complete strangers to each other. Both of them had changed. I don’t think the marriage lasted.
In looking back, the instant marriages happened for several reasons. People were seeking some kind of connection to their home, and someone to write letters to while they were away. They needed some hope to hold onto, so they could return to a normal life.
Women wanted to find some security for their futures during these very unstable times. In this case, the woman from Norway, met the soldier at a dance. A week later she was in her rooming house in the bath tub, and he slipped a note under the door asking her to marry him. She agreed. A week later he was sent to Italy to fight in the war. The honeymoon was over.
After multiple bombings and raids in London, she finally had a terrible experience when a plate glass window flew through the air following an explosion, and killed a horse just a few feet away from her. She was knocked over, and covered in the horse’s blood. She thought she was injured and bleeding as well. She laid in the alley up against a brick building, staring at the dead horse.
It took several minutes for her to get to her feet. She was shaking and traumatized, but was okay. Up until that point she had a sense of invincibility associated with youth and an adventurous spirit. She thought she could remain in London if she kept her wits about her. But the very next day, she got on the Canadian Red Cross boat, and headed for Canada.
In some cases people expressed how they were in complete shock to learn about atrocities being committed just an hours drive away. Another elderly woman explained that the men wanted to go to war because they were so desperate to get work during the depression era. Another woman whose family was from Austria, recounted a late night knock on their door. Two military policemen demanded to speak to her husband. They forced him down the stairs and outside. She watched through the window, as they took her husband away in the middle of the night in a black car. She never saw him again. She had two young boys, and struggled to raise them by herself after their father disappeared.
By listening to and reading some of their stories, the one thing that stuck in my mind was how much they stressed the importance of free speech. They said it was the last thing that was taken away from them. Once it was no longer safe to speak out, in hindsight – it was the final nail in the coffin of freedom.
They described the “us against them” mentality. They spoke of the fear and uncertainty. I remember one woman worked in a bullet making factory. Others worked on assembly lines sewing tarps and other military gear.
On the topic of free speech, we know it is a protected right under the Canadian Charter of Rights as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also know the entire concept of free speech is under siege.
Certainly we can understand and agree that free speech has limits. Those limits specifically revolve around violence, making threats, inciting violence, and derogatory or aggressive language toward others. However in recent years, free speech has become like tossing hot potatoes in the air. Some of those words are like they are on fire.
We have issues with pronouns, with multiple genders, different races, levels of intelligence, polarizations, us against them mentality, and a range of adjectives surrounding our views, which lead to the choices we make.
Free speech is an expression of thoughts and free will. Free speech is not fear based. It is about ingesting language, to chew it, and to spit some of it back out, if need be. Free speech carries a tone. It carries the truth. It reflects upon our existence and purpose.
We choose who we serve, and in doing so, are able to share ideas, arguments, or persuasion toward common values. We are by nature, inclined toward language and words. Babies formulate words and ideas long before they can talk.
To be wise, now is the time to unravel the words, and develop a good filtering system. It helps to know our own values, and reasons for writing, speaking, and sharing our ideas and stories. It is really quite fascinating.
Lately we have been inundated with covid buzz words, like misinformation, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxer, racism, covid denier, climate change denier, and so on. These are all frequently used terms to oppress freedom of speech. We are ridiculed if we do not go along with the narrative. If we continue to resist, we are accused of spreading dangerous misinformation.
In my opinion, it is best to know ourselves, our beliefs, and where we are coming from – first and foremost. We have to know who we are serving. Perfect love casts out all fear. I keep reminding myself of the fruits of the spirit. We are promised there is no law against the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.
I think if we know in our heart of hearts – what we choose to believe, and want to express, to give insight, love, and hope for the next generation, we cannot go wrong.
When we realize we have to be bold and courageous, and become champions for a worthwhile cause – we are serving God. We know he will defend us, which is a huge relief.
It is almost like we went from the Dark Winter to the Winter of Light in just a two week period. Oh – if only we knew what has really been going on behind the scenes. Some day we will know. Without a doubt, the truth is really going to surprise a lot of people!
Freedom requires faith. And faith brings truth, which endures and overcomes all things.
Brainwashing, thought reform, cult indoctrination, mass psychosis, propaganda, fear mongering, and robotic repetition- are active attempts to mess with our minds.
I see so many similarities in the covid narrative, as I experienced in the brainwashing that was inflicted on me in a small town Alberta public school. It was orchestrated by an authoritative brute, disguised as an Alberta high school teacher. There was a great deal of shaming, sleep deprivation, fear mongering, repetition of lies, staring, and gaslighting involved.
I could not leave the sordid teacher tale behind for the longest time. It took until I escaped the clutches of the teacher to be able to understand it better. It went on for years and years. The guy latched onto me when I was in high school, and I could not get rid of him, or the nasty lying schemes he cooked up with members of my own family.
The techniques of thought reform revolve around constant monitoring, stalking outside of school, fear, humiliation, disapproval, lies, condemnation, the loss of freedom to be a member of my own family and the loss of freedom of association as an adult. Much of what the teacher drilled into me revolved around claims that our mother was wicked and non-redeemable. He translated that into what a pitiable shameful creature I was without him. He would not let up with the lies, no matter what I did or said. My life was his obsession.
I was not permitted to be who I am, or to be a member of my own family, choose my own career, have a political opinion, or basically step out of line. It was out of the question. It was like my life had to be sacrificed over what someone else wanted. I was an object to be sold or traded, as some kind of mascot, or investment deal – a deal that had been cooked up, and then sealed for all time behind my back.
I can attest to the fact that you cannot get a clear perspective until you get out of the trap. Since they will not let you out of the trap, and all the wraparound lies – you have to fight hard to get free of it. Meanwhile, as your trust in those around you completely crumbles, you have to figure out what happened to your life. That too – takes time.
In my experience, there could be no healing or recovery until I got free of it all. Following that, there was an in-depth contemplative phase. There was so much shame and condemnation inflicted on me over the decision to get the teacher out of my life, that it was difficult to rise above it all and be objective. I was ganged up on and dominated all over again, thanks to the deal my older brother made with the cult teacher – combined with his power and influence in the family.
Brainwashing is a psychological assault, insult and trap, no different than if you are trapped in a cage. One of the predominant techniques involved is to shame, blame and scapegoat you for your insubordination. They not only want to monitor and control your every move, my older brother actually told me he was going to put me on a behaviour contract when I was in my fifties (for what I was thinking). I asked him, “Like what kind of contract? So you know when I do my dishes, or what?” He said, “No, it is what is in your head that is the problem”. Oh my. That’s a tough one isn’t it?
Since my older brother is now one of the 1% elite, and is very rich and powerful – I think his influence is part of what is happening politically today. He has the totalitarian tyrant mentality to the core. He will dominate everything and everyone in sight. He has always been that way. He is the boss man, and he rules. He has not changed since we were kids back on the farm.
The entire trucker convoy has opened a new perspective for me on the issue of toxic male dominance, versus a strong and protective type of masculinity. To me, it has shown the benevolent side, versus the corrupt side of masculinity. I see Big Brother and the scheming conspiratorial dominance using brute force and mind manipulation, as being on one spectrum of the man-dates, hidden from view, yet having tremendous influence on politics.
My conclusion was that we are stuck with the old boy’s club scheming behind closed doors. They have all the money, all the power, and all the political clout. They reduce us peons – to nothingness, wishing pesky little people did not even exist. It is a ruthless and punitive attitude to have toward other people. Loyalties exist only for those willing to be sycophants and minions.
In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would see a type of masculine force rise up that defends the rights of innocent people, instead of taking them away. The paradigm we have grown accustomed to – is that rich powerful men pull the strings, and there is no counterweight. It seemed to me, there was no resistance strong enough to oppose them. We all know Trudeau is speaking through a megaphone spewing the views of the elite, backed by his posse of wealthy corporate handlers and influencers.
Yet here we are. We finally have a group of no guff type truckers and farmers who are standing up to an unfair dominance over our lives. They have brought, through freedom and free will, the choice of the people to the forefront.
This is a display of power and unity that actually defends ordinary people. It is a strength defending the rights of babes in arms, to the isolated grandmothers, to those forced to die alone, to the working class people who put food on our tables. And everyone in between. It is such a refreshing turn of the tables. We have been forced into a mandate trap with no way out, and yet to our surprise – the trucker’s convoy came to the rescue, like right out of a Hollywood movie script.
I know the PM and the media have doubled down, just as my own family doubled down on me when I finally resisted the tyranny and lies. But once you are out of the trap psychologically, there is no going back.
Brainwashing is insidious and damaging. There are certain techniques used, which makes me believe it is an intentional act of harm. When there is deep rooted spiritual indoctrination, combined with an assault on the identity, it takes years to unravel the harm. It is a form of molestation.
From what I have witnessed in the covid progression of lies and propaganda, I saw that people bought into it, just trying to be nice. I know the drill. You comply because you feel awkward, and want to help make things normal. There is a willingness to concede, even though there is a great deal of cognitive dissonance, because they have broken down your free will and spirit. It does not take long until we become accustomed to oppression, and resign ourselves to it.
Once the bond of fear and dominance is broken, there is a surge of freedom and optimism at first. In my case, there was also a sense of absolute revulsion toward the teacher for what he did to my life. Even though I know I must forgive him, it is almost impossible. I can forgive my own family members, but I have trouble forgiving the guy who literally tortured me into subservience with a pack of lies.
As far as the covid restrictions are concerned, it has gone on for two years, with no end in sight. Every time a few restrictions are lifted, they double down again. This is a cult practice. They keep you off-balance. They throw out a few rewards, and then move forward again, pushing an ever increasing number of boundaries past your better judgement.
They are push in predators, using push polls, leading questions, and biased responses. Once they have a foot in the door, they want you to be nice, while they move in on you completely. They operate on the premise – if you give an inch, they can take a mile.
If I was a psychologist telling the government what to expect, I would say the penny has dropped for most people, which means there is no turning back. When people have come to the point of resistance – it means our minds are made up. There will be no more falling for media lies and propaganda. They might as well give it up. Covid is like their pet puffer fish. It just keeps puffing up with more poison. Once you see it, you avoid it.
I believe brainwashing or thought reform is not sustainable, because it erodes and destroys the soul of its victims. Escaping the trap becomes the only way to survive. We cannot re-reconcile what we reject at the core of our being. In fact – the resolve to resist just gets stronger. You can feel the quest for freedom inside, like it swells up from the spirit within us.
We are inclined to go back to our roots, and figure it out from there. One thing about control, is that the control freaks have to be able to predict a response. They use fear, mandates, shaming, scapegoating, ganging up on, etc. in order to get the predictable response. Blind obedience is what they want.
Now the powers behind the scenes are in a position where they cannot predict or control the response. Control freaks are actually much more inclined to lose control, than those of us who just want our own freedom, never mind controlling the masses. In my opinion it is the control freaks who are the dangerous ones. Why? Because they are coming from a place of insecurity – instead of love. It may seem like an oxymoron, but arrogance is a symptom of insecurity.
When control freaks do not get their own way – they get mad. They get revenge. But they will not do it openly. They hate to see people escape from the trap they have sprung. But if everyone escapes all at once – what are they going to do?
The trucks runneth over – The footprint of tyranny.
The truckers create a blockade – yet at the same time, they are opening the floodgates, to set the people free. It is a story of Biblical proportions. Just wait and see!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
We have been exposed to another infamous, and somewhat staggering speech from our PM in Canada. It is already spinning and grinding the wheels in our heads – churning up yet another flurry of indignation.
In response to the trucker’s freedom convoy, we have been told that some people have unacceptable views. He claimed this convoy of truckers is nothing. That’s right, nothing but an angry fringe mob representing a very small minority. Seriously?
Our PM also shows great disdain for anger, unless of course it is his own anger, then it’s okay. Otherwise, no unacceptable views. There can be no anger over his views either. It is very odd coming from a man who has a history of supporting all kinds of minority fringe groups.
In fact, he implies – if we don’t smarten up, we will somehow be punished for our unacceptable viewpoints too. Create a crisis, cause a reaction – punish the reaction. Quite the cycle of abuse. How can he be surprised that people would finally say enough? From his perspective, when is it enough? Taking it to the wall – or to the wild side? Why would any leader stoke division, and uproar to the point of mass protest?
When the ball is in his court, he grabs it and takes it home with him. It is HIS ball, so the game is over, if he is not guaranteed to win. To some, power is like child’s play. Petulant and pure as the driven snow – like last weeks blizzard. Anyone not on board with that, can stay out in the cold and starve. Fair play is another unacceptable view. He gets paid. He gets food. He travels freely. So what is everyone else so worried about?
But sadly for him, after the vision clears – the narrative is crumbling like a stack of cards. There is no controlling the domino effect, when legalism and petty rules no longer make any sense. Laws that provide stability and protect inalienable rights, are a reflection of societal values. Laws and rules that make no sense, will be rejected by those same range of societal values. There are Universal laws that some politicians tend to forget about in the never ending quest for absolute power.
The central message coming from the trucker’s convoy, could be called a view. The convoy carries a message of Freedom. How can any PM or democratic leader claim in front of the nation – that freedom is an unacceptable view? Where is the list of unacceptable views? We should all know what they are. Shouldn’t we?
The minute freedom is mentioned – the polarized opposite spins it into anarchy. But that is absurd, because what a freedom rally is trying to do – is prevent anarchy.
The cause of anarchy is a descent into chaos based on a refusal to follow the laws. Dismantling Constitutional laws, and other laws surrounding informed consent, laws protecting inalienable human rights, economic rights, rights to freely assemble, and privacy laws in health care – these are the laws that prevent us from falling into chaos and anarchy. Yet these are the very foundational laws that have been eroded and dismantled over covid. Laws that have been holding us together for hundreds of years got tossed in just a two year period, without any proper judicial processes.
Once again, the wording and the polarities are spinning this to pretend that all the faux covid laws are actually the laws. One of the main reasons there is so much controversy and passionate responses to these mandates, is because Canadians generally know what the laws are, and for the most part have always been tolerant and law abiding.
Unacceptable views do exist. They are outlined in the Criminal Code of Canada. The list includes everything from property crime, to violent assaults, kidnapping, child pornography, theft, inciting violence, fraud, and so on.
Foundational laws must be maintained, or we lose our democracy. In my opinion, Canadian citizens are saying “I want the foundational laws that are meant to govern our land and protect our inalienable rights back”. Taking those foundational laws away, is taking away the rule of law. The more legalistic and controlling things become with rules that are not in sync with the supreme laws of the land – is a dichotomy that even a five year old cannot process.
Being forced to internalize so many contradictions does have an impact on mental health. Some people become depressed. Other people become angry. A good leader would probe for underlying concerns. But instead – people are told these are unacceptable views and that it is not okay to be angry. The expression of anger as in a peaceful protest has a purpose. The purpose is to make a grievance known. Anger is the emotion and catalyst that leads to constructive change, if it is managed properly.
Mental illness or unacceptable views must have accompanying symptoms or laws attached to them. People struggle with mental health on a regular basis. They are not sick just because they struggle. They are sick if they cannot cope, or if they act out in a way that threatens harm. The key is to maintain self control regardless of how you feel.
The idea of stomping out all opposing views, with a singular focus on getting 100% of the population vaccinated is an extremist viewpoint. It is as extreme as it gets.
Not only do all people have to get vaccinated, but if they do not, they are severely restricted and shamed. They cannot work. They cannot get EI even though all employees pay into it. Many are saying they should be denied health care, even though they pay taxes like anyone else. It has been taken to the extreme in name calling and denouncing the unvaccinated as “not being Canadian citizens”. These are the views of extremism in my opinion.
The other glaring viewpoint or polarity right now is between – follow the science or follow the truckers. Pick one.
People pick what they can trust, what they need, what they believe in. Thought reform is a fear based attempt to oppress and subvert popular dissent. Guess what – it does not work. It does not jive with foundational laws based on one of the oldest Constitutional monarchies in the world.
The Canadian Constitution has language to protect inalienable rights in the event a government loses sight of its role. This is the language of the law. Those are the views Canadians are standing up for.
To have a PM stand up at a time of leadership crisis and basically denounce the Canadian Constitution as being an unacceptable view – is almost inconceivable. Yet – he came out with that speech. Did he think it through? Where does it lead? At least the truckers knew where they were headed. I really wonder what Trudeau is trying to do. If what he says is intended to clarify anything – all it has done is muddy the waters and make his views look downright scary.
For the first time in our lives, some of us are pondering this question. The only way we can evaluate how it happens, is to look to the past, to look at the present, and to read Bible prophecy. For the secular world, the Bible prophecy is irrelevant, so the secular world will look more at things like computer modelling, and climate change – in order to make predictions.
I was reading about the collapse of civilization during the Bronze Age, and then soon realized the scope of these lost civilizations throughout history. Common themes are that there was a period of settlement, cities built, prosperity, combined with engineering and technical advancements leading to sophisticated infrastructures.
Then something happened to cause these civilizations to collapse. Most modern day interpretations claim the causes to be drought, climate change (yes even in the sixth century), famine, overcrowding, loss of income or livelihood, and pestilence and disease.
But in reality, the collapse of these early civilizations, is shrouded in mystery. After the Bronze Age collapse, there was a loss of written record, during and especially following the collapse – so much of the cause is based on theory and conjecture. No doubt wars and conflict contributed significantly to the fall of civilizations.
We can be sure that the loss of economic survival and food security would have been central to the collapse of a civilization. The descriptions revolve around chaos, and generalized societal breakdown.
According to one book writer who focused on the collapse during the Bronze Age, the least likely to survive such a collapse were the ruling elite. There seems to be a pattern when you look at the historical fragments that come out of the catastrophic changes that befell people throughout history. We see a progression of events or circumstances, that reach a tipping point, and then all hell breaks loose.
Whether it was the revolt of the pheasants, or the chaotic collapse of infrastructure, drought, famine, or war – the landscape was changed forever – first by the settlements, and then by their disappearances.
Whether you read about the history of collapse during the Bronze Age, the Mayans, the Vikings, and various other civilizations that first thrived, then died – they are still mysteries. I think the Bronze Age is the longest and most interesting situation, since it spanned such a large area for a long period of time.
In some of the descriptions of lost civilizations, the cause was evident. One location had what was described as thousands of arrows, like leaves littering the landscape. They were found along with the bones of people who remained where they had fallen when they were shot by the arrows. But there was no way of knowing why this happened, or who did it to them. In some cases the civilizations were abandoned, like people were forced to leave very suddenly even though they had lived in luxury and abundance for a period of time.
In another description, there was evidence of a catastrophic fire. Sometimes the archeologists can find evidence of famine and drought. But for the most part, each historian will admit, every downfall remains cloaked in mystery.
Throughout history, people usually had the option to flee a war torn country, or migrate to more fertile lands. But now, people do not have those options. We are in a global free fall.
In my opinion, the key difference we are seeing today, is that we are facing issues on a global scale with increasing conflicts, combined with chaos and instability of infrastructures. These infrastructures contribute to food security and economic survival. We cannot survive if we cannot feed ourselves.
I don’t know how anyone, including the ruling elite, can create a great reset for the entire world. It means they are collapsing all systems without a plan for rebuilding. You cannot rebuild what took five hundred or a thousand years to build – by intentionally collapsing that system. Do they honestly believe they can collapse foundational principles and reboot all systems within a couple of years?
Build back better? That’s delusional and demented in my opinion. That’s why laws have addendums. Instead of scrapping long established laws, we see addendums getting passed, for very good reasons. The destruction of the rule of law, especially the supreme laws of the land, like the Constitution – is one way to contribute to the collapse of democracy. From there, it is a slippery slope into rule by dictatorships. Totalitarianism is simply not sustainable. The virus is the megaphone – so we do not clearly see where the voice of all this deception and tyranny is coming from.
If we see the collapse of the rule of law, of food security, of basic human rights, of economic security, and of infrastructure – we can at least consider the fact we may be nearing the end of the age. Never before in history have we seen so many of the contributors to collapse coalesce on a global scale.
Other than the flood during Noah’s day – the world has never known a complete collapse of civilization. Historically, the collapses were in certain locations, spanning specific time frames. The other notable thing about them, is that much of the documentation as to what was going on at the time, was lost in the aftermath. There was an absence of the written word. Only the monuments, artifacts, and certain structures remained, to help piece together what happened.
We do live, or think we live in more civilized and sophisticated times, with all of our newfound technology and knowledge. But it is truly incredible what human beings are capable of doing to each other if the circumstances become desperate.
For those of us who do believe in God, it is a huge relief during these stressful and chaotic times. The ruling class may have enjoyed many years of decadence and power, but history tells us that can change very rapidly. They make plans, but there is no guarantee those plans will work out as they hope. Even if most of the conspiracy theories are true – the outcomes are not set in stone. Some may think those planned outcomes are set in stone – but surprises might be in store for all of us, including them.
Every day brings new developments, and truthfully we are supposed to have mercy and love towards all people. The final chapter is about a call to repentance for all people, including the churches. Repentance brings redemption for the believers. Those who refuse to repent, are sent strong delusion and develop hardened hearts. Their pride lets them feel superior and their money provides the prestige, the comforts, and all the delicacies this wonderful earth has to offer.
Wealth and prosperity carries no inherent evil, unless it is acquired through deception and abuse of power. Joy, love, peace, and health are highly valued – yet they have no monetary equivalents.
For the secular world and the atheists, or worse yet, the apostasy of the churches – they take what they can get out of this life on earth. They plan for earthly gain, not heavenly gain. So it is understandable why there is competition for gain.
We listen to the experts all day long – yet we know nothing from listening to them. In fact, we are exposed to massive contradictions in a single paragraph. We cannot really test the truth of the numbers we see on a computer screen or in a newspaper. All we can do, is look at the world around us and observe what is happening.
Stability is one of the most central principles in maintaining societal order. Yet the entire world is being forced into instability and chaos. Who can comprehend this?
No one can. But we can keep one central theme in mind. They cannot collapse free will. We carry our individuality, and free will with us into the next age. So we can keep our chin up – regardless of what happens!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Almost every memorable writer throughout history faced controversy. Several of them were punished and sent to labour camps or prison. Stalin murdered many of the intellectuals and writers who were thought to promote western influences.
No matter what the scale, or the level of fame – writers have to lay bare their inmost thoughts, or raw ideas, along with emotionally charged passions, channeled into the arrangements of words. Just words. Thoughts get strung together like a picture on a big old-fashioned loom. Writing shows what is looming ahead, by what is seen in the patterns, before the full image emerges.
For all those who are not writers, many think as though they are. They see the characters, the nuances, the crossed motives, the contradictions, the changing stories, and the sixty four thousand shades of grey too – just as many writers do.
When a reader connects with a writer, they either accept or reject the ideas presented. We are constantly filtering, and must filter more and more information all the time, as competing sources vie for our attention. We each have to find our own way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
If you pick almost any topic, you can find polarized points of view. We usually don’t hinge our values on one article, or a single experience. We decide our beliefs based on a cumulative amount of information that is sifted by our brains. We have memories and experiences to help us compare and validate the things we read. If the weather forecast was completely off-base and not truthful, after awhile, we would stop paying attention to it and find other ways to check it.
We develop values based on foundational beliefs, and personal convictions. Even siblings born into the same family, often have completely different values. This is based on personality, and the different ways each one interprets and manages his or her surroundings. Siblings have plenty of conflict. What happens if one is censored, and the other dominates? It leads to a very dysfunctional family.
In sibling relationships, where there is dominance and bullying, it is usually the stronger, older child who rules the roost. This is for no other reason than birth order and physical size. You would think we would grow out of such things when we enter adulthood, or preferably much earlier. But many don’t grow out of the need for power and dominance, and carry these traits into adulthood.
Authoritative and controlling attitudes are ingrained early in life for some people. Authority is meant to be accountable and transparent, with checks and balances. Those in authority over us are expected to follow the laws, as well as the Constitution and democratic principles.
If they don’t, they deserve to be challenged. Anyone who is in a professional role, has an obligation to intellectually challenge brute force dominance that erodes democracy, free will, freedom of speech, and fair play.
We know there will never be real equality, and if we examine the concept, how would we even define it? Would we be equal if we were all exactly the same? Imagine a world where no one musician was better than another? No one was better looking or smarter. No one with more money or property. Is it even feasible in the fantasy world of the newfound meta verse, let alone the real world?
What fun would it be? No one wins. All have the same strategy, and no one can tell who is who. The duplicate button got batch processed into clones. Busy clones, and many angry clones – with no competition among them. Pointless and angry sounds like chaos to me.
Controversy as a writer, is about delving into some of the intellectual challenges involved in a given topic. It stirs up the indignities, the injustices, and the neurochemistry associated with the flight or fight response. It is the attempt to reach out and share ideas or possibilities that may not have been considered yet. Or it confirms and validates what the reader also believes. It is an attempt to cut to the chase, instead of chasing your tale, until someone cuts it off.
Can conflict be censored? Especially if the conflict was created and crammed down our throats, and more commonly up the nostrils – with a swab? What does the test tell us? Oh but is it accurate? Dare we ask that question? Does it matter? Of course it does.
I read in Global News today what I considered to be a very dumb and hackneyed article. The entire article tried to refute every bit of controversy surrounding covid, repeating all the talking points over and over. Okay, we get it. These are full page ads for the pharmaceutical companies. It is not news. They are telling us what to think, what to believe, what to do, and what values to have. What does that have to do with news?
Global News went on to blame, name, and shame various non-compliant companies. They also gloat over any untimely death or illness of any person who has voiced anti-covid sentiments, labelling them as anti-vaxxers.
Some people would rather die than be called an anti-vaxxer. How ludicrous. We keep hearing; “this is the way out of the pandemic” yet we are in a deeper rabbit hole than when it all began.
People made comments when interviewed by Global News, but they were asking not to be named, because they were affiliated with such radical organizations as “Jabless Jobs”. Once again – can’t we at least say, “this is mind-bending ludicrous”? Imagine people having the nerve to find ways to work for a living, in order to feed their families?
To all writers, and readers – we are at a critical crossroad of cowardice or courage. It looks like we are at that fork in the road. Perhaps it is more like a pitchfork. Words can be powerful. The media is using words to make false accusations. They are calling peaceful people radical, extremist, and fanatical. What are they? Mad?
Let us be perfectly clear – the decisions some people have made to wait and see, the desire to work for a living, the normal inclination to socialize, the desire to see loved ones, to want to go to school and get an education, to want to buy a home or start a business and keep it going, to want to go to fitness facilities to stay in shape, to want to go to church if so inclined. These are not the values, desires, or patterns of radicalized extremists!
Fear is the biggest de-motivator when it comes to human behaviours. We are better equipped to deal with sudden, short lived fear – than to live with the chronic stress and anxiety of sustained fear. Uncertainty and instability is also a stressor that can become chronic and adversely affect overall health.
How can any of the antagonistic journalistic nit-wits claim that good is bad, and bad is good? We are not all loon-balls – if we make an informed decision to avoid certain medical procedures. So drop it already, and prepare for some honest political discourse and opposing viewpoints. Debates are not won by shutting the opponents out in the cold, and dead bolting the door. Open it up, or lose ALL credibility.
We live in a rapidly eroding democratic country. In BC, there is no active political opposition to challenge what is going on. Fortunately, there is one political person in a senior’s advocacy role, who is pleading for more humane treatment for long term care residents. Those poor people are worse off than ever before. They are being neglected, deprived of social contact, isolated, imprisoned, and cared for by people who don’t even want to touch them. Many of them have no idea why this is happening to them. They die alone, carrying this great travesty of human suffering to a whole new level.
Now this global agenda has the gall to shift the burden of illness onto children. They do not in any way deserve to carry such a burden – especially when they have no capacity for informed consent. How does a five year old understand what is going on if we can’t? I am sure most of them would adamantly say NO WAY if they knew the risks.
If we don’t have the courage to speak out now – we are cowards. Now is the time to re-evaluate and reconfirm our values, hold them tight, respect our minds, guard our hearts, and stand up for the things we believe in.
Some examples of the most controversial writers throughout history: Nicolaus Copernicus, Friedrich Nietzsche, Galileo, Karl Marx, John Milton, Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, Voltaire, Truman Capote, Aldous Huxley, and Ayn Rand – just to name a small handful of them.
Whether these controversial writers were right or wrong, good or bad – where would the world be now, if we never allowed any controversy, or refused to let any philosophical potential be developed? Who can destroy food for thought? Who gets to decide what can and cannot be read or discussed? Where does it end – if we allow it to begin?
Where would we be – if we did not read and interpret the Bible?
We, as human beings have to read, learn and think. Why? Because we don’t like the polarized alternative. We cannot conform to a society that is not open to discourse, tolerant of different points of view, and capable of managing open debates on topics that affect us directly. How can we be? Some things are simply not sustainable.
Broken systems that took hundreds of years to build, cannot be destroyed and built back better in a matter of months. It is sheer lunacy. We need to ask the powers that be, to stop hacking at the foundation of our existence. They do not even know how to rebuild it. It’s like giving a six year old a radio to take apart, and expect that he can put it all back together so it works. Not likely.
Power has the capacity to run amok, without an adequate amount of rational thought. Power corrupts. We have checks and balances in place, to keep power from becoming absolutely corrupt – for very good reasons. Power is like an addiction. Perhaps it is time for an intervention.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is probably the most central topic for all of us right now. We are being told not to follow social media, with dire warnings about all the conspiracy theories. Oh no – what will happen to us if we read and indulge in different material?
Will we morph into the dreaded conspiracy theorists? We will definitely be on the other side of the “us against them” battleground of the constant conflicted information. We become the pip-squeaks in the war of words. Our thoughts are vilified, and our actions are considered reprehensible, even if we sit back and do nothing at all. We are not impulsive. Just the opposite in fact.
How dare we challenge the mainstream journalists? They seem to be either young and naive, crafting the narrative for their own careers, and the greater corporate good. Or they are the old dogs, long in the tooth, and drumming propaganda into us like they have a hammer and a template for doing so, nailing it down with efficiency and aplomb. They do have a template. History knows they do – because they have done it before.
But why are so many conspiracies surfacing in the first place? The mainstream media is claiming these conspiracy theories are “far right extremist” groups. But right off the bat, the labeling causes people to mistrust the hyperbolic labelling. Furthermore, if there is a polarity of views, and one side is far right extremist – then the other side must be far left extremist.
You cannot be polarized if there is only one pole. Unless you are a stripper doing acrobatics on centre stage of course. Then you just have to bare it all, but they don’t do that either do they?
Though we are seeing plenty of sleaze, we have to ask – who is working the poles, and where are their clothes? The emperor has no clothes in this narrative. It is the only possible way they could have only one pole! So let them evaluate the real reasons for the upsurge in conspiracy theories. They own the pole. They own the narrative, and therefore, they own the fact that it has spun out of control. They are the spinners. We are the weavers.
Admittedly some conspiracy theories are far-fetched. But what about groups of doctors and scientists who dispute the mainstream news media? Surely they would not risk their livelihoods and careers to chase unfounded nonsense. In fact, when conscientious people have ethical dilemmas, they have a duty and an obligation on behalf of the public to bring their concerns forward. Stifling those concerns is like throwing kerosene on the flames of mistrust.
In my opinion, conspiracy theories are on the rise because there is a loss of trust in both the governments, and the main stream media. So people naturally will look elsewhere for information. The facts are changing daily. If you quote last weeks facts that were presented in the media, you could be labelled an anti-vaxxer or far right extremist. Those so called facts are changing faster than you can spin a prize wheel at a local carnival.
Therefore it must be the instability of facts, and a constant stream of changing and new information that causes the public to distrust the mainstream narrative. We are not accustomed to seeing scientific facts change every time we get up to face another day.
If we open our cupboard in the morning, and coffee is no longer coffee, but we get powdered compost instead, we would no longer trust the labels on coffee. Or we would investigate that particular brand, and find out what happened to it.
Aside from the many conspiracy theories that have popped up in the past two years, how can we rely on scientific fact if it is not the least bit stable? You might argue that a volcano or fault line is scientific, yet unstable. You might say that science is always evolving. You also might parrot the narrative, and say that we are learning as we go, therefore all of this is to be expected. Why? When in all of history have we expected science to change every second day?
We have basic expectations. We expect to see the whole, not just the parts they want us to see. But wait! The peons cannot possibly understand the whole story anyway. it must be presented to us by cherry picked scientific experts. After that, it must be pruned, ruminated and regurgitated by what passes as well-crafted journalism telling us what to believe. We are no longer reading the news. We are being educated into group-think by the media.
Aside from the political and media strategies designed to stifle dissent, does anyone really understand the immune system? I don’t think so. The reason I don’t think the immune system is well understood, is because we all have different immune systems. If this were not the case – there would be no autoimmune diseases. There would not be any cancers or other types of autoimmune induced illnesses. There would not be any adverse reactions to immune altering drugs. And when adverse reactions appear, they would know the cause and mechanism of injury – but clearly they do not know. So I think it is safe to say, the immune system is very complex, and is not fully understood by anyone.
Why do some people get adverse reactions to certain drugs, and others do not? Why do some people catch eight colds a year, and others catch one or two? Is every cold a covid cold? How could any science possibly figure that out? If the data are not properly collected, broken down into age groups and gender, and then scientifically analyzed – how can anyone know the results? If you don’t know the results collected from data analysis, how can you announce safety results or efficacy?
The mistrust and conspiracy theories are caused by the very people who denounce them. When people no longer trust governments and mainstream media, they will search for other information. In some cases, the other information is very well researched and comes across as quite factual. In other cases, the alternative news can be far-fetched. But the fact it is surfacing as rapidly as it is, tells us the entire narrative is falling apart.
Mainstream media can no longer hold it together with all the daily death counts, cases, and fear mongering. If the facts that people are spoon fed, do not align with observations or basic scientific principles, people won’t trust those facts, and will look elsewhere to find truth.
As the saga continues to unfold, I think most of us have far more questions than answers, in spite of all the long-winded news articles. Why is the world so focused on covid to the exclusion of many other more pressing public health issues? Why all the talk about field hospitals, yet the one in Vancouver never had a single patient?
Why are the adverse reactions not being reported? Why is there no compensation for injury? Why is there a need for passports and mandates if the transmission has not changed, and there is no efficacy toward the new variants?
And from the political perspective of collectivism, the orders are that we must do our civic duty, and take the risk of invasive medical procedures without sufficient data to prove either efficacy or safety.
If I am forced to do something they claim is for the collective good, that means the collective society should take care of me if I suffer an adverse outcome. Shouldn’t it?
But what exactly is the collective good? Does it mean no one will ever catch a cold or flu again? Does it mean it is my fault if they do? How does that ring true to anyone?
Personally, as an individual – if I have a serious adverse drug reaction and go blind, who is going to look after me? If the government or the collective society cannot look after an individual that is injured by what they are trying to force on us – it means the individual must take more and more responsibility for personal health and safety, not less.
If a person looks at the available information and is not satisfied, then they should be able to refuse it or refute it, because the available data does not meet the threshold of informed consent. No one should have to go to a doctor to get an exemption for something they do not want. If a doctor tells me I must take chemo for a tumour that showed up on a mammogram – do I have to take his advice? Maybe it was a false positive. Even if it wasn’t a false positive, I still don’t have to get chemo if I don’t want it. Is all that going to evolve and change too – so people cannot refuse any medication or treatment? It’s a slippery slope and a scary thought.
If you do not want a medical procedure, you do not have to explain it to anyone, unless you are admitted to an ER department or psych ward without the ability to speak coherently or make decisions for yourself.
The test of sanity is based on behaviours, not political beliefs or alternative viewpoints. Refusing a medical treatment is not a behaviour. It is a choice. In fact, lining up for test kits and booster shots represents a behaviour, and some might call it maladaptive or mass psychosis. But doing nothing, is not really a behaviour, is it?
For example, I chose not to use steroids for an autoimmune eye disorder that I have had for many years now. The reason I chose not to use steroid eye drops to reduce inflammation, is because the steroids have worse long term implications than doing nothing. The steroids cause white cataracts, which eventually requires surgery. Plus the long term use of steroids for a chronic condition leads to a host of other systemic, and often life threatening problems, especially of you ever need emergency surgery.
For the eye condition, doing nothing in relation to the medication is simply a choice, and a choice that I am glad I made a long time ago. Does it mean I have a conspiracy theory toward the treatment of autoimmune eye disorders? No, I don’t. In fact, the research I have done indicates that reduction of stress, diet and rest – are the key things one can do, to reduce the severity and frequency of the flare ups.
How did I come to the conclusion? I had an intuitive sense that using steroids for a chronic condition was barely a band-aid for a bigger problem. Then I read forums, and followed multiple people online who had to deal with the same disorder, to see what they did and how they fared. Many said that diet and stress management was crucial. Some followed the medical treatment plans to the letter, with steroids and opiates. By comparing the testimonials with what I experienced myself, I concluded that diet, avoiding alcohol, and stress management, would be the best approach to keeping it under control.
If a person gets cancer and decides not to get chemo – does that make them a conspiracy theorist? How is it that the refusal of one certain treatment can make you all bad, when people refuse medications and treatments all the time, just based on their knowledge of their own bodies, and on doing their own research?
Are we going to be accused of thought crimes for doing our own research? Do we have to justify or find exemptions in the medical field, just to make a decision to avoid or refuse certain treatments?
What if the pharmaceutical profit motive is geared toward making merchandise of all of us? Are we merchandise? And more importantly – are we their merchandise to be used, poked, prodded, and then cast aside? If we are their merchandise, what did they pay, or what did they do to procure us?
And finally, who owns our bodies? Who can say that we do not have natural immune systems, without denying the scientific evidence that proves we do?
Okay, let’s just say that we don’t have any natural immunity whatsoever – does that mean we do not have an immune system? What is the purpose of the immune system? If science promised us a bionic arm – would we cut off our functioning arm to get a new and improved one?
Human beings naturally try to make sense of the world around them. When the world no longer makes sense, we will find a way to remain stable, so we can hopefully live out our lives in peace. We are not an abstract blob of people, we are individuals. Abstract blobs don’t think, individuals do.
The mainstream media has lost its steam. In fact it is like an insipid, repetitious concoction of words all jumbled together to come up with the same crap. It is like the big bang theory of denials and dismissals.
Just think. We are in the midst of watching science evolve right before our eyes. Usually evolution takes more than a few days, but hey – we are already in a world of altered reality. So should we be shocked that somehow the evolution of science speeds up like a lightening bolt from the deep. But to be fair, this is more about the miraculous science of words, statistics, cherry piking, collectivism, social engineering, and creativity with numbers. It is out in the open, even if people are still in denial. It is more of a linguistic virus than anything.
Just put those drug advertisements in a shaker for awhile and presto – you have more science, in the form of covid hype and bias. It seemingly evolved like a monkey swinging in a tree. Do we all point and cry out – Hey – that used to be me!
Shake it up a few more times – I want to see what happens!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Nihilism brings to mind some of the revolutionary dark philosophers from the 1800’s like Nietzche. Dostoevsky also wrote about nihilism, but it seems he wrote about it more as a lament.
Nihilism like all isms carries a certain range of ideas embodied into a central theme. It is described as anarchy, a loss of values, chaotic, hopeless, and loss of all meaning.
Nihilism is also described as the rejection of all religious and moral principles. It is the extreme skepticism that believes nothing in the world has real existence. Does that bring us to question the motives of the new facebook meta verse even more?
Nihilism projects a complete loss of values, and loss of meaning for human existence. In fact it condemns our existence, therefore it justifies destructiveness and lawlessness. Nietzche predicted that nihilism would eventually destroy all moral and religious convictions, and bring about the greatest crisis in humanity.
Could we apply the rise in this nihilistic mentality to the overdose crisis we are witnessing on our streets today? Can we apply it to the public vilification of certain members of society by political leaders, who are the very people who should be preventing such persecution?
Can we apply it to the destabilizing loss of the Constitutional laws that have governed us since Britain became a monarchy, and Canada became a sovereign nation? And poof – just like that, life as we have always known it changed, without even passing these laws through proper legislative channels.
Nihilism has many synonyms in the power thesaurus. All of them are negative, cynical, godless, agnostic, disordered, chaotic, rebellious, lawless, full of turmoil, mistrust, anxiety, confusion, mayhem, mob rule, and revolution.
Though many discussions and truths are now censored in mainstream media and social media, the philosophical discourse surrounding the rapid and rabid rise of nihilism throughout the world, should give us all a wake up call. It is important now more than ever before, to shake the media induced beliefs out of our minds, and evaluate the importance of defining and holding onto our own foundational values and beliefs. The old adage or phrase attributed to Rene Descarte “I think therefore I am” should also tell us – Don’t give up thinking then! And don’t give your spirituality over to the dark forces either.
As politics and the rise of fascism in health care, makes us increasingly polarized and mistrustful, we are forced to examine our own thought processes. Once we do that, we can articulate them, and project them outward much better. We can create more inner stability and peace for ourselves if we hold firm to our integrity and values.
We should all ask ourselves – have we been swept along in a tidal wave of BS? Have we been conned into going into uncharted territory, when those who are leading us don’t even have a map or a moral compass?
For centuries we have held our freedoms, our families, our fitness, our food, our finances, and our faith as central and common values that govern our lives. Yes we do screw up, and we mess up often. But with our common values, we have avenues for justice, and restraints upon lawless activities.
Now, all of a sudden a person who chooses not to succumb to pressures coming from aggressive marketing tactics steeped in pharmaceutical profit motive, are labelled as obnoxious, antisocial, ignorant, misogynist, racist, selfish and so on. Those who want to avoid a descent into nihilism will recognize these tactics as bullying tactics, with no basis in truth, democratic principles, or laws.
We keep wondering what we can do, as we see all the devastation brought by these mandates and lockdowns. The vast majority of people have followed the government guidelines and mandates, in order to help get things back to normal. Did it work? No it did not.
Even the coveted mass pharmaceutical obedience, which has given them blockbuster profits, has clearly not worked, and people are fed up. They have a singular motive. It appears to be aimed at destruction, and dependancy on more drugs. Drugs do not sustain us. We need food, water and shelter more than we need drugs. We need to stabilize and re-establish trust in health care (a value) or it is going to cave in completely.
To help end this madness, we have to start by examining, and holding tight to our own foundational beliefs and values. We hold fast to values that are worthwhile and good. Values help guide us, get us working, improves loyalties, and strengthens families and communities.
If you look up the opposite of nihilism, it is existentialism from the secular perspective, and a belief in God from a faith perspective.
Existentialism opens up the discussion on the meaning of life, and the purpose of existence. Nihilism turfs what is good, and wallows in self pity and despair. Nihilism is the mental depiction of circling the drain. It is a very dark vortex, churning with confusion as it revolves in a constant state of darkness and despair. It almost seems to have a vacuum attached to it, that can suck you in with the rest of the debris, if you get too close to the swirl.
So what does that leave us with? It leaves us with hope. Because hope, love, and a belief in God – wipes out nihilism, without having to lose all stability, and all dignity through the destruction of what is good.
We overcome evil by holding fast to what is good. But first, make sure your beliefs are rooted in truth. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it meant that we would have to figure out the difference between the two, which is not easy to do. But it is more important now than ever before, to be able to separate the wind from the chaff.
Don’t swallow a camel and swat at a gnat!
Matthew 23:24 “Ye blind guides, which straine at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe vnto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for yee make cleane the outside of the cup, and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excesse.”
The prepper trend is an interesting response to the many changes we are witnessing on a global scale. The fear mongering has caused a percentage of hard core survivalists to prepare for complete self-reliance. Some go to great expense and obsessively devote their lives to being ready for apocalyptic events.
Although the central theme is similar, the range of ideas around this concept varies widely. One couple’s main objective was to grow food, keep honey bees, and promote community engagement. Of all the preppers I have watched on youtube, they were the most rational and happy of the survivalists.
They set up a wholesome and functional hobby farm, combined with canning, pickling, dehydrating, and other methods of food storage. They extracted and stored honey, and made various types of wine, because they believed these could be used for barter if there is a complete economic collapse. As far as guns and protecting their food source, they chose not to bother. They claimed the community would band together to help each other, not attack each other.
But most of the other videos I have watched on the topic, seem to revolve around creating a stockpile of both food and weapons. Some of the attitudes are very hostile and war-like. They believe the protection of what is stockpiled is of utmost importance to their survival. So they focus on guns, ammunition, and creating a protective barrier around themselves.
In some cases, people are investing over a hundred thousand dollars in food. They give video lessons and instructions on how to prepare it, store it, how long it will last, and how to reconstitute it into recipes. Some of the survivalists concentrate on storing really good food, like meat, cheese, and various oils. One couple had an entire house and garage full of food. They ran out of space, and had to rent storage rooms. The woman was delving into and experimenting with gourmet recipes, using a variety of preserved foods.
Other preppers look for basics with a very long shelf life, regardless of nutritional value. They stockpile things like canned food from superstores, Kool-Aid, sugar and Tang. I don’t know if they still make Tang, but it was popular in the sixties. It was bright neon orange, and full of artificial flavours and colouring. You added water and turned it into juice. They have changed the name and re-branded it into other varieties of non-nutritional juice crystals.
Even among a small group or percentage of the population who choose to plan their futures by prepping – there are significant differences among them. Some are very militant. Others are like old hippies who want to remain passive, and live off the land.
Personally, I don’t think it is rational to stockpile a massive amount of food, or weapons. I have never been a fan of guns. However, it is interesting to know that Switzerland is a country with millions of guns, yet they have minimal gun violence. They were also one of the only countries that was not attacked by Hitler. So I can certainly understand both sides of the gun control arguments.
Plus anyone who lives in a remote wilderness area would have to have a gun for protection against aggressive bears, coyotes, cougars and other wildlife that might become a threat to them. If a person decides to live off the land, chances are they will hunt as well.
As far as prepping to accumulate and store massive amounts of food, I think it could be a futile waste of time and money. I also believe that counting on some food items to last thirty years or more, is quite a stretch (with the exception of honey and alcohol). The idea of being constantly paranoid in order to guard a food supply, is not the least bit appealing.
One contaminated food batch, and they could inadvertently poison themselves with botulism, salmonella, or E.Coli. In addition, a high percentage of gun violence or accidents that do occur, happen within the homes of the people who own them. So the militant prepper mentality could backfire in a multitude of different ways.
In my opinion, violence tends to beget violence. Paranoid people with guns, are actually more dangerous than those who carry a balanced and peaceful outlook. The old adage, “you are what you eat”, can also be transferred into “you are what you think”. Thoughts precede actions, and if people shut up their thoughts in a bottle, or a bunker – they might feed on themselves in a maggot-like fashion.
If you are going to be a prepper, I think planning for nutritional and sustainable food supplies should be the highest priority. If you decide to go back to the basics, as in a hundred years ago, forget the Tang and store bought goods. You have to garden, farm, fish and hunt.
The only rational part of being a prepper is to plant gardens, nurture them, and learn about growing food, as well as preserving it for reasonable lengths of time. The best approach, in my opinion, came from the couple who grew a prolific garden, and planned for community engagement and barter – not trying to fight their neighbours off.
In Canada we have enough space to grow more food. We can raise cattle, chickens, pigs, and other farm animals for meat. But most of Canada does not have a long growing season, so we depend on the warmer US climates for a high percentage of our fruits and vegetables in the winter months.
Food security is a huge issue for all of us. Historically, the world has experienced many famines. As we try to predict and plan for what the future may hold – it’s like we are being thrust backward and forward at the same time.
We are in the rapidly advancing high tech world of artificial intelligence and gene therapy – while simultaneously planning to go back to pioneer days, just to maintain food security. There does seem to be a major disconnect.
We can watch historical accounts of real life survival situations like the Donner Reed party, where a group of American pioneers set out on a wagon train from the midwest, to reach California. They got far more adventure than they ever could have anticipated. The first mistake they made, was in being deceived by a fast talking young lawyer who convinced them to take the uncharted route. He used rudimentary guesswork to draw an inaccurate map of the proposed route. The unsuspecting group set out on the perilous journey, believing it would be a short cut, when the lawyer himself had not even traversed the route.
The Donner-Reed party made the biggest mistake at the onset, by embarking on an uncharted route. They expected a certain outcome, but it did not pan out. They turned their fate over to a glib young entrepreneur who knew less than they did about the territory they had to cover.
As a result, they suffered many unanticipated mishaps, one after another. Some of the wagons were double deckers and so heavy, they were difficult to navigate the narrow and rocky, root covered trails, which slowed them down considerably.
Soon after what they thought was the worst part, they were suddenly faced with an expansive, desert-like salt mine to cross. The heaviest wagons got stuck in the deep crystals of pure salt early in the trip. As a result they lost many supplies and livestock, since they did not have enough water for such a treacherous part of the journey. Nor could they get the heavier wagons across the vast expanse, even if they could have dug them out. When we think about being parched, the idea of heat without shade in a desert is formidable. But can you imagine being stuck in a salt mine desert in the middle of nowhere?
In spite of their best efforts, they did not make it past the Sierra Nevada mountains before the snow fell, and were essentially trapped there to starve and die. Finally a handful of women, and one twelve year old boy, made a last ditch effort, and miraculously managed to cross the mountains.
Similar to other catastrophic events, the fatal Everest climbs, are almost always due to unanticipated weather and human error. People become disorientated with altitude sickness, and then make mistakes. Human ego vs nature, whether on the mountains or on the sea – cannot physically transcend what might befall them, just due to the random nature of circumstances. I think it is in our nature to believe we are invincible, especially when we are young and fit.
Although it might be boring compared to conquering mountain peaks, we can’t go wrong if we plan for healthier living. That means better nutrition, well-planned outdoor adventures, more gardening, more fresh air, more pollinators, more composting, and less waste. Make way for the wine and the bees. Put some soup in the freezer for a stormy, icy day – and hope for the best!
Be the salt of the earth – but steer clear of the salt mines!
The following YouTube link shows the most creative and resourceful prepper of all. He travels with sheep, who graze and provide him with warmth and milk, which he makes into butter. He gets half his calories from the sheep. They each have their own little carts to pull. The coolest thing he said is that he is a prepper, but does not want to be self-sufficient while others are suffering, so he takes a community integration approach. It is truly incredible to see what he has figured out to keep himself fed, clean, happy and functional.
We really should just cut to the chase. All the talk about science and politics – yet the practices of deception, division, forced isolation, and brain washing or thought reform – comes from cults. The origin of it all is cleverly crafted – so to speak. Or dare I say what I think?
But I do get to express what I learned about indoctrination that stems from my own experiences. It is only fair – since we have to find a way to overcome it, don’t we?
Cults are as old as the hills. They are not agnostic or atheist. They are often made up of people who know the Bible, or some version of the Bible that has been altered. Falsehood almost always has grains of truth sprinkled throughout. When people see something they recognize or believe to be true in one area, they are more likely to believe all of it. Cults are made up of people who reinvent various cult practices that have been used since the beginning of time. They attach themselves to a belief system and can rationalize some very bizarre behaviours.
We have to look at words and actions, whether a person is a leader or a pauper. What are they saying? Is it true? What are they doing? Who is affected by their words and actions?What are the contradictions? What are the motives? What do they want? Why are they acting that way? Whether they allow people to ask these questions or not – it still does not stop the thought processes and beliefs. It does not stifle curiosity and skepticism. The more dissent is shut down, the more it grows. It’s like putting wood on a fire.
They know who they worship. They aim to divide the family first and foremost. They create confusion, yet they repeat the same lies so often, they are changed into fact, just through repetition.
Cults want to infiltrate not only your family, but your inner being. They use guilt, shame, scapegoating, and many other aggressive and coercive psychological tactics. They subordinate you to their superiority. They oppress you with their lies.
The doctrine of cults – you can pick any one of them, for they all serve the same master, is to use deception to cause chaos. They want to put their opponents in the most vulnerable position possible. They want to weaken us, disable us – destroy our health, finances and beliefs. They will find every way possible, to gang up on you just for trying to get free of them. The ultimate objective is to not only destroy your health, but your mind and soul for all eternity.
Already we can see how this battle is crossing into eternity, in order to face a judgement at a later date. Look at how many people have died without being able to say goodbye to a loved one? Look at how much harm has been done to people’s lives, businesses, and families. Look at the chaotic uprisings of protestors in every country in the world. Watch the instability churn into anger and revolt. Then despair. The increase in drug abuse to escape. The broad daylight violent crime. The intimidation, and bullying is rampant. All without proper justice. Who are the lawless ones? A person who doesn’t wear a mask?
Even though there are one hundred and ninety-five countries in the world, and people have been thrust into mass hysteria – some of the public turns into brilliant sleuths. Many people maintain rational thought.
The like-minded – with sincere spirituality, and genuine humanity, holding to a moral compass, clinging to love and compassion, seeking the truth, with sound values, defending the frail and feeble, with a willingness to be a buckler or shield for the innocent – are also spread out among us – far and wide. We are never truly alone. So don’t worry.
No one can take away what is good in this world. God will not allow it. Plain and simple.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Denial is one of our most powerful and common defence mechanisms. If we really do not want to believe something awful is happening, we can allow it to go quite a distance, just based on denial. Something in our psyche blinds us to the truth.
But denial can only last so long. There is no peace in denial, therefore the defence mechanism is no substitute for truth. A person in denial has to constantly be defensive, while wrestling with the dichotomy or cognitive dissonance within.
All defence mechanisms serve a purpose, or people would not have developed them. The ones that top the list are denial, repression, projection, displacement, and rationalization.
So much of our denial is based on fear of mockery. People will paradoxically risk their lives just to avoid being mocked. No one wants to be associated with a group that is being vilified. In fact, it is human nature to gang up on them, and persecute them even more.
Why do people become so cruel? Pride and power. It can be reduced to two words. The inclination to see others as inferior is a powerful trait in human behaviour. We like to be seen as superior in some way, either financially, morally, physically, or intellectually. There is a pecking order in every group, organization and structure. Going along with the masses means you will not be singled out as one of the rejects.
Our identity is tied to the family we were born into, what career path we choose, and how successful or wealthy we become. It is attached to what we own, and what kind of outward appearance we can give to demonstrate our success.
All of that is fine in the sense that people who are motivated to work hard, stay organized, and take care of their families – is a good thing. But tying the entire economy to certain health choices, making it so people who do work, want to work, and are perfectly capable – cannot work. That makes absolutely no sense, and plunges working middle class people into economic despair.
If we are honest with ourselves, we know all of the psychological defence mechanisms quite well. Repression is a state of being subdued or restrained – in your thoughts and memories. It has a direct correlation to oppression, since the forces of oppression cause one to resort to repression. Once you allow truth to surface, and the reality of those oppressive forces – it brings clarity and a very strong resolve to resist those forces.
Projection is the convenient method of throwing your own faults into accusations against the opponent. The most selfish people will accuse others of being selfish for example. They think you are being selfish if you don’t succumb to their oppressive forces. They punish you for refusing to be exploited. When up against this kind of dominance – no one can dare force those who are more powerful, into the basics of justice and fairness. There is no such thing as equality, and there never has been.
Projection is also the projection of voice as in those who rage, scream and curse, in order to magnify themselves, and get their way. Often it is combined with constant attention seeking and narcissistic rage. They will project violent posturing, name-calling, vindictive retaliation, and other methods of intimidation. This is done in order to dominate, control, and take away the rights of other people.
It is especially damaging to those who are forced to be in proximity to such a person. Violent language is often a precursor to violent assaults, so it is not something to be ignored or condoned. In fact, you cannot ignore it since the aggressor is constantly screaming and cursing, banging, slamming and terrorizing. Then he simply lies and denies it, even though everyone around him has been subjected to, and has been ear witness to his constant outbursts. This allows the cycle to continue because people are sufficiently intimidated, and many will remain silent.
Displacement is when emotions, often aggression, is displaced onto a weaker target. If the angry person cannot address or face the real cause of his anger, because he is too much of a coward, he will transfer it to a weaker person, or sometimes an animal. In fact, bullies tend to look for weaker targets, just to have them on hand for when they are in a bad mood.
Rationalization is the attempt to use numbers, science, media, the various conversations, and information, and then adapt that or filter it to justify the acceptance of lies, hypocrisy, and state control.
Rationalization and denial probably top the list when it comes to accepting the marching orders of psychological warfare. Masses of people, through the cleverly crafted use of fear and propaganda in the media – have sugar coated their own armour with the psychological defence mechanisms of rationalization and denial.
All defence mechanisms offer a form of escapism. People escape into the meta verse, the television, gambling, exercising, shopping, drugs, alcohol, video games – and the list goes on. Escapism is the one defence mechanism that does not always require us to lie to ourselves. The key issue is what you choose to escape into, not the fact you seek diversion from negative thoughts or surroundings.
Just as we really need to buckle down and take care of our physical health now more than ever, we also need to take special care of our mental health. The emotions are triggered, and when sustained over long periods, it causes fatigue and illness.
The worst escape modes are drugs and alcohol. You fall prey to the system, as well as to a self destructive cycle that becomes central to your life. Plus many drugs, including alcohol – will cause a person to do things they would not do otherwise. There is a loss of cognition and alertness. A high percentage of assaults, accidents, and suicides happen while intoxicated. Addiction also robs the person of true confidence and self-esteem.
In spite of the galaxy of human frailties and crossed motives underlying all human behaviours, including thought, belief and opinion – we do have rights. It is an indisputable fact of life. We may not be treated as equals. But human beings do have fundamental rights, and can formulate their own opinions, based on personal observations, spiritual beliefs, and life’s experiences. Otherwise there can be no sustainable humanity, no justice, no choice, no dignity – and nothing that separates us from the beasts of the jungle.
We must remember that one of the key traits of psychopaths – is the callous disregard for the rights of others. We must not allow those prevalent psychopathic traits of dominance and deception – to become an ideological state of being. Things need to be brought back to stability, common sense and balance.
No one has a crystal ball in relation to what the future holds. Knowledge of what is to come is probably best contained within the pages of the Bible. But even so, we are confronted with falsehoods, and misinterpretations that are polarized. The truth contained in the Bible, has also been subject to all the defence mechanisms known to humans.
Even if there is a grand conspiracy to create a totalitarian world government – those who are orchestrating it, don’t really know how it will unfold either. Grand scale plans seldom turn out the way they were envisioned.
None of us are modern day prophets, and no soothsayer could ever have conceived of it all. Yet here we are. We all need to strip off our defence mechanisms, and take intrinsic personal and individual responsibility for what we believe. What is the reality that surrounds us?
The looming humanitarian crisis is coming at us like a steam train, yet all defence mechanisms have kicked in to deny it, and allow it to happen.
We can thank God we are spiritual beings. We can be thankful for having a sound mind during times of crisis. It is time to look deep into our own conscience, our own psyche, and pray with all our heart, mind and soul – to ask God to intervene.
A change of mind – can change the world.
As promised – the truth WILL set us free!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As a Canadian and a collector, when I say “our cultural heritage” it means – the expression of art from a divergent range of people. In Canada this includes influences, artifacts, writings, and beautiful hand made works or designs that were brought here from other countries.
On an individual level, we are more likely to resonate with, and remember the culture of our ancestors. We also learn about and share different cultures among families, friends, neighbours, communities, and travel. We all know how much food and music influences culture in every country of the world. So we can begin to recognize the patterns contained within a wide variety of cultural influences and designs.
We all come from a unique perspective, beginning with the family we are born into. This expands into a curiosity and awareness of the things around us that intrigue us or influence our senses. How many of us recall playing with the hand-painted Russian wooden nesting dolls? There was one on the shelf in our Swedish grandparents house. As a small child, I knew it came from somewhere far away.
In my opinion, one of the benefits of culture to society is in what we can learn from thier labours. It lets us examine how they did things, what they wore, and what came out of the lifestyles of the past. The range of patterns and design is intriguing, inspirational, and thought provoking.
I have been trying to create a material landscape of the dispossessed – to show that throwaways, and things from the past, are often much better than what is new.
Through the long process of establishing an online store, especially doing all the product photography, I have learned to appreciate the designs of some of the most talented designers and jewelry makers of this century. Even though it is a fairly humble collection compared to museums and rich people, it still shows who we are and where we came from. This collection has roots.
The Quiet West collection was gathered from the west coast of Canada over four decades. Even so, the items in the store come from all over the world. It is especially thrilling for me, when I come across some of the famous Canadian designers from Montreal and Toronto.
I can clearly see that Montreal has gifted Canada with a reputation for excellence in fashion and the arts. Canada may not be seen as the epicentre of the Parisian French fashion flair. But we do have a significant and impressive mid-century contribution to the world of fashion from Eastern Canada.
As time goes by, the material remnants of the previous century begin to disappear. People tend to look at old photographs to see both style, and lifestyle.
Although I have a long way to go to become more consistent with the photos, I do believe an online collection of art and fashion from the past can contribute much toward education, design, pattern recognition, care and preservation, textiles, and appreciation of the arts. If each country had such a collection, it would be very interesting to peruse. Of course, so much of it depends on what the collector is looking for.
But most of all, it’s the nostalgia it creates that connects us to the past, and to each other in a positive way. Our world has changed quite dramatically this past couple of years.
We can look to the past without clinging to it. We can seek what is good, and get our heads out of the dark shadows when they pass overhead. We can turn our focus toward aesthetics, learning and labours of love.
Over the years, so many things get lost in time – through fires, floods, and the migration of people from one location to another.
Some of the past is worth hanging onto, and some of the past should be let go. But nevertheless – it is what we know. Tangible is touchable – and it keeps us in touch with the remnants and the roots of our past.
Although we certainly can’t believe everything we read these days, my interest this morning was piqued by an article coming out of New Brunswick about a neurodegenerative disease that is affecting young people, and seems to be transmissible. The full article is in the Guardian (which could easily be more fear mongering and propaganda).
If you read the article, it makes it sound like dementia, hallucinations, weight loss, and severe cognitive decline can be spread from one individual to a care giver.
The thing that struck me is that in Moncton the clinic “The Special Neurodegenerative Disorder Clinic” is called “The Mind Clinic”. Really? How odd.
The brain is a holistic part of our physicality. Injury to the brain might damage thought processes, swallowing, cause certain behaviours, affect speech, movement, or coordination. The brain is dependent on oxygen, nutrients, other organs, neurochemistry, and is protected by the skull.
Conversely the mind is part of the person’s identity, individuality, personality, beliefs, will, and emotions. The soul consists of mind, will and emotion. The spirit, which is closely linked to the mind, comes from God. Therefore the mind, soul, and spirit are separate from the physical body, and have the capacity to leave the body when the person dies.
In the case of near death experiences, thousands of people have described leaving their bodies, and watching from above what is happening. One man described being in a boat that was capsized by a huge wave. He described struggling to the point where he gave up, surrendered, and accepted death. He said being tossed around in the ocean was intense and violent. He also recounted leaving his body, and watching the ocean and waves from above. He gave the description of what it was like going back into his body, being pushed up against something that forced water out of his lungs, and being pulled from the water. Apparently he was under water for about eighteen minutes.
Admittedly there are some near death experiences that seem to be sensationalized or fabricated. But a high percentage of them are quite consistent, so there must be something to it.
In previous articles I described my own similar experience with anaphylaxis. One of the most amazing aspects of my experience is the amount of knowledge that flooded into my mind. It was like ten textbooks of information all at once because I was praying, and asking God, “what is happening”? Our mother described the same thing when she had open heart surgery at the age of twenty-three. She could see all the drapes around her and watch what was going on. These types of experiences almost always take away the fear of death and change some aspects of the person’s beliefs about death.
My thoughts at the time of surrender. There is acceptance. Like it is as natural as an apple falling from a tree. And thoughts of loved ones, hoping they don’t grieve. Aside from that, there was a sense of what was happening in the spiritual realm. It was literally crackling with energy, and I was quite curious to see what was out there when I fall over dead.
For me, the real acuity of the whole experience lasted about ten or twelve minutes, and I was struggling to get each breath – so I did not really die or go anywhere. But I came to that point of exit. When my soul left my body briefly during the whole experience, I was looking down on myself with clarity, wondering if and how I was going to survive this. So I did not have the real version of a near death experience, or go towards a tunnel with a bright light. But it was close enough to make me realize beyond a shadow of a doubt – that our souls leave our body, and there is a very dynamic and active spiritual world around us.
Even though we should not fear death, I also believe we should value our lives, try to stay alive, and avoid doing things that might hasten our death. For this reason alone, we need to maintain as much control over our own bodies as possible – in all ways. When it comes to the diseases that take some control over our bodies – we still have our minds. If our minds go into cognitive decline, we still have our beliefs, our genetics, our history, and our identity.
How does the mind remain active when it leaves the physical body? How do our eyes see what is going on when looking down on our own bodies? Our eyes are also part of our physical bodies. So what is it that enables us to see or think at such a time?
I wonder what’s next with these so-called clinics? Can’t they differentiate between the physical brain and the mind or the soul? Obviously not. In my opinion a neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, is not a disorder of the mind. It is a physical disability, secondary to an injury to the brain or central nervous system. A quote from the article:
“The Special Neurodegenerative Disorder Clinic, also called the Mind Clinic, in the city of Moncton is the clearing house for cases referred from within the region as well as neighbouring provinces. Prospective cases have typically stumped doctors and resisted a battery of standardized neurological tests used to rule out certain conditions.
Using a case description guideline developed by a team of neurologists and epidemiologists, the clinic decides if the patients warrant further investigation or if they may have a known illness or disease. Determining who becomes part of the cluster is subjective, largely because the brain is notoriously difficult to study. Certainty is often only obtained after the patient dies and the cerebral tissue can be fully tested.”
There is supposed to be a Provincial report of the disorder coming out this month. They claim forty-eight people have been affected by this strange and debilitating set of symptoms.
But the good news is that the “Mind Clinic” might not manage to stay afloat themselves. They should leave their concept, rise above it, and see for themselves – that as a neurological clinic, they should stick with the physical. Taking it beyond that, is not the least bit fair to those they are treating or diagnosing.
The only part of the article that makes sense is that the Mind Clinic is struggling to survive. Oh my – take a deep breath before you go under!
“Amid mounting tension between specialists and the provincial government, a source familiar with the Mind Clinic say the postings for several jobs at the clinic – a social worker, an administrator and a neuropsychologist – were recently made temporary, the budget would no longer be recurrent and the clinic would be converted into a Alzheimer’s and geriatric clinic. Health minister Dorothy Shephard told reporters on 1 December that speculation the clinic would be shut down was untrue.”
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Friedrich Nietzche (1844-1900) was considered to be one of the most influential thinkers and philosophers of the time. In hindsight, when the whole world contemplates what laid the foundation for a plunge into darkness and madness – look deeper into the concepts introduced by a brilliant mad man.
Nietzche was a German philosopher, writer, and essayist. Prior to retiring into full time writing, he was a University professor in Switzerland.
Although his writings are circuitous, depressing, and convoluted – many have embraced his concepts. In fact, his writings may have been foundational for the rise of the Nazi movement. His central beliefs denied all forms of morality, and focused on the will to have power.
Although his writings are considered to be brilliant, the torment of his soul was evident in his life. One of the most famous statements attributed to him is “God is dead”.
“When Nietzsche famously declared that “God is dead,” he meant that science and reason had progressed to the point where we could no longer justify belief in God, and that meant that we could no longer justify the values rooted in that belief. So his point was that we had to reckon with a world in which there is no foundation for our highest values.”
Rather than go into the exhaustive interpretations of his writings, which include “Beyond Good & Evil” “Twilight Of The Idols” “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” it might be more worthwhile to simply give a snapshot on what is known about how he lived his life. None of his thesis proved anything, and it seems much of what he wrote is either poorly understood, or misinterpreted.
It is documented that he graduated from high school at age twenty. He was born in 1844 and entered the University of Bonn in 1864. His father, who died when he was a child, was a Lutheran minister, which gave his mother hope he would follow in his footsteps. But Nietzche chose to study and teach philology (the study of languages) instead. He became a professor of Greek language, and literature at the University of Basel in Switzerland at the age of twenty-four.
It appears he worked as a professor for less than ten years, and at the age of thirty-two quit to be a full time independent writer. He lived with his mother, and got his money from his pensions and various associates.
Although there is much speculation about his life, and whether his descent into madness was due to syphilis, isolation, strokes, dementia, or the excessive use of drugs – is not clear. He suffered early and significant cognitive decline for whatever reasons.
However, it is clear he traversed a very dark and convoluted road. Some of his followers deny that he went mad, and attributed his catatonic paralysis during the final eleven years of his life to a stroke. But even so – they cannot deny the string of mad letters he wrote, in many cases claiming himself to be god.
The contradiction and hypocrisy is pretty obvious – for a person who famously claimed “God is dead”. It sounds like this poor delusional man maybe thought his own soul was dead, and was so filled with pride, he mistook himself for being god.
He continued to write throughout his thirties and early forties, but by his early forties he was already writing the mad letters. He died at the age of fifty-five after spending eleven years totally paralyzed or catatonic.
Some of his fierce defenders remain adamant he was paralyzed due to a stroke. However, in my opinion, he did not seem to exhibit the global characteristics of brain damage associated with a stroke. In addition, it is not that common for a person to have a massive stroke or severe dementia while still in their forties. However drug and alcohol use, among other things, could contribute to an early stroke.
No matter how you choose to view his life, his writings, and the influence he laid for some very dark philosophical arguments and belief systems – there was no joy, no light, and no hope in his forsaken life.
It is really interesting to note when studying these historical famous figures, how many of them were sick for most of their adult lives. Florence Nightingale was also sick for many years, and spent those years writing esoteric nonsense. By the age of thirty-eight she was home bound and bedridden. All the nursing school exaltations and praise of Florence Nightingale’s wonderful contributions are nothing but fabricated propaganda. You can follow the path of the “iron maiden” and wonder why anyone thought she was kind, or that she even knew what she was doing. It was all political.
Charles Darwin was equally as sickly. He had maladies up the yin yang for most of his life. “After returning from the Beagle in 1836, Charles Darwin suffered for over 40 years from long bouts of vomiting, gut pain, headaches, severe tiredness, skin problems, and depression. Twenty doctors failed to treat him.” This is especially significant because he was very young when he went on the Voyage of the Beagle. He never experienced optimal health at any time in his life, in spite of constant doctor’s visits for various treatments and therapies. You have to wonder if Darwin really wrote the theory of evolution.
In fact, I know Charles Darwin did not come up with the original thoughts or writing on the theory of evolution. His grandfather Erasmus Darwin wrote thousands of pages on evolution, many steeped in or copied from ancient Sanskrit texts. So how did Charles Darwin develop the original thought train if his grandfather wrote about it before he was even born? His grandfather, father and ancestors were steeped in Rosicrucian belief systems. Darwin might have been tasked to translate the ancient texts to remove the spiritism and make it more scientific. The theory of evolution was written down in ancient texts as early as the tenth century.
Another reason I came to suspect Darwin did not write the evolutionary material, is because his autobiography has a very different writing style. So there you go – add that one to the 9,999 other conspiracy theories in this world. In the end, I wonder how many of those conspiracy theories will be true?
Besides that, how many people who are really sick can sit and write all day? I know I can’t write all day if I am sick. Maybe Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin were hypochondriacs, or lazy, and simply wanted to get out of taking out the trash. Who knows for sure?
What do the known lives of some of these people tell us? To me, it demonstrates that a path of darkness, dark philosophy, and dark writings – does not bring much joy or inspiration for the soul. It is almost like they lived their famous and exalted lives as examples of the “destinies of the damned.”
On a broader scale, perhaps the bigger question is – why does the media, the universities, politicians, and the grant programs exalt so many crazy and deranged people?
How do we know Florence Nightingale was not the ethereal, benevolent lady with the lantern – floating down the hallways of hospitals during the Crimean war? Because iron maidens don’t float. Her career was short-lived and cruel. How do we know Nietszche may have been brilliant, but he lacked wisdom or true knowledge? Just look at where all his self-absorbed, twisted notions led him? The path we choose in life does take us somewhere, even if we don’t realize it at the time.
The eighteen hundreds had a plethora of dark philosophers that laid the foundation for much of the modern day apostasy. One person’s writings can influence a mushroom cloud of off-base and deceptive thought processes that infiltrate everything from politics to health care. Some of the historical thoughts and ideas that surfaced helped people break out of oppressive conditions. Other ideas led to catastrophe. We need to be able to discern the difference between good and evil in order to make our own choices.
The cult of personality and national socialism creates a harebrained mess of things. We can thank our lucky stars – there is a God. If all of history, politics, education and health is left up to man, just look back. Look at the present. Ask yourself if we are giving too much accolades to the actions of behind-the-scenes people who are so self-exalted they are in a descent into madness. Yet their thinking becomes foundational and can be plucked out the remnants of those Godless black holes.
Yes things have become increasingly polarized, the opposite of what Nietzche believed in and taught. He denied the existence of right and wrong, he denied the existence of truth, and he denied the existence of God.
No one is forced to believe in God. Perhaps it is better to write about a favourite famous writer like Blaise Pascal. I have been a fan of Blaise Pascal since I first started to read about him thirty years ago. He was truly and provably a brilliant man. He did not do circle talk spouting intellectual gibberish. He did not focus on himself, but rather practical things that could benefit knowledge, understanding and progressive mathematics. He wrote about and tested his beliefs.
My next blog post is going to describe a much more productive and psychologically stable historical figure – Blaise Pascal. Here is what he believed about God.
Another of his famous quotes, which I think should be a covid quote is. “Don’t try to add more years to your life. Better to add more life to your years”.
Everyone must be scratching their heads over the announcement to change Facebook into a global meta verse. Huh? What the heck is that? Do you take selfies, run them through a filter, make up an impressive handle or avatar, call yourself a god or a goddess, and play “meta verse” all day instead of living in the real world?
Where did Zuckerberg come up with this novel concept? That’s right, it does come from a novel. It comes from the 1990’s novel by Neal Stephenson called Snow Crash. I have not read the book, but looked up some reviews and the convoluted story line. The book is pure science fiction.
In the book there are many altered Biblical references to the tower of Babel and various gods. It speaks of how “in the beginning gibbersih was written into the bitmap causing the computer to crash”. Snow crash is a reference to the old fashioned TV screen when it went off air and left a snowy, static looking screen.
The book speaks about the Sumerian language used for programming the brainstem. The goddess Ashera is the personification of the linguistic virus. The god Enhi created a counter-attack causing all humans to speak different languages (idea comes from the Bible).
The plot opens in LA after a complete global economic collapse. LA is no longer part of the US since the world is run by sovereign enclaves each run by big business. The plot revolves around a character named Hiro who is a hacker and a pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. When viewed, the snow crash datafile caused a system wide crash and the viewer to get brain damage.
The book hints of strong narcotics as part of the computer file, and has multiple sub-plots. Quoted from wikipedia “The body that is infected by a virus does not become infected because it understands the virus any more than the body that does not become infected misunderstands the virus. So a world in which everything—from bitmaps to blood—can be understood as a “form of speech” is also a world in which nothing actually is understood, a world in which what a speech act does is disconnected from what it means.”
Now the question is, how does this science fiction odd ball novel manage to become the backdrop to set up a Facebook meta universe? Especially given the fact it was written thirty years ago?
The answer is it doesn’t and it can’t. It is not only a far-fetched marketing campaign, but it is dredged up from the dark side. It is given accolades for having all kinds of brilliant connections on everything from history to linguistics, to anthropology, religion and philosophy, but a quick overview, in my opinion – shows a focus on nothing much but a cult religion.
But regardless of what fantasies a person gravitates toward, how is this book going to be the conceptual construct for a meta verse, which no one fully understands?
First of all, computer programming does not take on a life of its own. There are brilliant programmers, but all it is – is a translation of thoughts into code. It does not invent itself.
The basic reason it cannot be what Zuckerberg claims it will be, is because in order to create a meta verse, first there must be a virtual reality. A virtual reality must be open source, and allow any other programmer to jump in, and possibly even take control. You can rest assured Zuckerberg – has not structured it this way. This is his own little play station version of his own aggrandized pseudo-reality.
Furthermore, the science fiction genre it stems from has a moral code, and this falls outside that moral compass. Why? It has undercurrents of a radicalized and racial purification structure for humanity.
“In contrast, it uniquely risks developing a racialized view of culture.[according to whom?][citation needed] Because, Walter Benn Michaels states, “in Snow Crash, the bodies of humans are affected by ‘information’ they can’t read… the virus, like the icepick [in American Psycho], gets the words inside you even if you haven’t read them”,[16]: 68 culture is not transmitted by beliefs and practices, but rather by physical characteristics, such as blood (or genetic codes).[according to whom?][citation needed]”
Facebook has morphed into a meta universe based on a science fiction novel from thirty years ago, when there is no virtual reality even today. Gamers put on goggles and headphones to enter. The rest of us put on a hat and gloves and go out for a walk in the snow like normal human beings in the real world.
When someone shares a picture of their dog on Facebook – don’t worry. It can’t bite or byte you!
What all this drivel fails to acknowledge – is that human beings produce both language and thoughts. Thoughts stem from our identity and beliefs. There are Universal laws surrounding the development of thoughts. All computer programming stems from human intelligence and thoughts, not the other way around.
Happy New Year! And let’s hope Zuckerberg only manages to crash his own system.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2022). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
History is valid because history tends to repeat itself. You would think we would learn from the past, but human nature, unfortunately – is what it is.
Mussolini started out as a revolutionary socialist. It is an ideology that stresses the need for widespread revolution in order to bring about social restructuring. It is about destabilization and division.
According to history.com Mussolini’s father was a blacksmith by trade, and an ardent socialist. His mother was described as being a devout Roman Catholic, although I am sure she was a whole lot more than that. I have never been quite sure what a devout Roman Catholic means. When I was younger I assumed it meant they followed all the traditions, midnight masses, and various forms of worship set out by the Catholic Church. But regardless of religious affiliation, people are responsible for what they do, and how they treat others. There can be no hiding behind a cloak of religion, or it means it is a false religion.
It is interesting to note that Mussolini was expelled from school at age ten for stabbing another student. He obviously had no remorse, because he stabbed another student when he was fourteen, and was suspended from school. He did not face serious consequences by the sounds of it. Nor did he have assessments or some kind of intervention and follow up. At least there is nothing to show he was remorseful, or even controllable.
His young adulthood was spent traveling around as a socialist agitator, with frequent altercations with police. After a brief stint as editor of a socialist newspaper in Austria, he was deported back to Italy in 1909.
By 1910 he was the editor of another socialist newspaper, and was arrested for inciting violence. He spent six months in jail. Apparently during his incarceration he began writing his autobiography while still in his twenties, citing his difficult school years and romantic prowess (multiple conquests). Wow. A violent, self-aggrandized, agitated lover boy. How ominous.
Mussolini fought in the First World War in 1915, and then returned to journalism. By 1919 he was organizing fascist groups to form the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento. He also began to stockpile weapons and explosives in his newspaper offices. This group insisted on the internment of any foreigners deemed to be enemies of the state. He was arrested again for collecting arms to overthrow the government, but was soon released.
By 1921 the Italian parliament was dissolved in the midst of violence and chaos. The reason given for the dissolution, was the reluctance to impose martial law. The subsequent election brought a win for the fascists. Mussolini won a seat, and from there he managed to rise to power.
By 1922 he declared himself the dictator of Italy. Following his declaration, two decades of oppression, and harsh regimes were inflicted upon the people. During the Second World War, he opportunistically aligned himself with Hitler and the Nazi movement.
Is it any wonder fashion took on the persona of the flapper and the fringe during that era? Flapping wildly in the wind and turbulence of the times. If you compare the “look” from the turn of the century, before the world wars, to the 1920’s-1940’s we see radical changes in some of the glamorous silhouettes that came out of those wars. War generates profits, especially for those at the top.
Mussolini’s first order of the day was to demand special “emergency powers” to set up the elections and punish any anti-fascist activists with prison, denying them a trial. By 1926 the fascists owned 66% of the newspapers. The “Order of Journalists” was created and membership was mandatory. Anyone who did not comply faced immediate arrest and imprisonment.
By 1943 the antics of Mussolini and his alliance with Hitler began to catch up with him. He was voted out of power by his own Grand Council. He was arrested and freed again, only to join the dark forces in the murderous rampage against the Italian Jewish people.
Finally, in June of 1945 the allied forces stormed into Italy. Apparently Mussolini tried to flee with his lover, but was discovered in a transport truck and arrested. Most of the information for this article was retrieved from the website history.com. However there is a glaring contradiction. In one paragraph it states he was arrested in June of 1945 trying to flee, and the next paragraph claims he was shot by firing squad in April of 1945.
Although there is much more to this snapshot of the rise and fall of a fascist dictator, one of the final macabre bits, is that he was hung upside down with one of his cohorts at the Piazzale Loreto in Milan, and displayed for crowds to express their rage and disgust. The public was free to kick and spat upon the upended corpses.
But the grisly bits of his life did not end in the town square. In 1966 his wife was given a piece of his brain in an envelope. The American diplomat who gave it to her said it was a gesture, or a piece of what creates a dictator. It does not make much sense to me, how a piece of someone’s brain in an envelope is going to prove much. You would think she would have been appalled, but instead she saved it. His wife decided to put the grey matter on his tomb, which receives over a 100,000 visitors a day. Nice tourist attraction eh? For flies maybe…
If anything, the dictator’s history of stabbing his classmates, and his many brushes with the law, should have prevented him from rising to power. But people get caught up in confusion, chaos and fear. Or worse yet – denial. Then it seems things just follow a certain path of destruction, with some sort of mysterious timing.
Mussolini’s life was one of violence and domination. Soon after his death, Hitler committed suicide.
Although they commit an untold legacy of harm, murder, and imprisonment – these men died miserable deaths. Are they gone for good? No. Those ideologies never got stamped out. They surface again. But what is their ultimate fate? Judgement day. They wait in the pit until they rise one more time – to face the final judgement they deserve.
For all those with fascist or extremist leanings – learn from the past, or your future will be locked in a pit somewhere with guys like Mussolini and Hitler. We all await the judgement day. Some of us hope for justice, while others quake in fear at the thought of consequences for their horrific actions toward other human beings.
Every impactful ideology, even if it is steeped in madness – leaves a remnant. We should study the scraps and leftovers from the past to see the origin and progression of extremes – leading to the cult of personality, self-exaltation, tyranny, arrogance, and cruelty. The remnant of social injustice is seen when societies become increasingly Godless.
In all ways, we can safely assert that creating confusion and chaos is not good. Pushing people to the point of rioting in the streets, is not good. Inciting violence? Not good.
We are meant to do good, with sincerity and honesty. We are meant to deal with others in good faith. No matter what happens, good overcomes evil. Love overcomes hate. Truth overcomes deception. Peace overcomes violence.
Christmas means a Saviour was born. Just as we celebrate his birth, we look forward to his return. Now, perhaps more than any other time in history, we have to navigate one of the most complex narratives of all time. We just have to do our best to do good, and promote peace.
May faith in Jesus bring peace of mind, with much reflection and hope for what is to come.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Like most intangible definitions in life, luxury is embodied in a lifestyle that some take for granted – yet others have never experienced. Or is there some kind of luxury for all people? Is love a luxury? If it is, then maybe some of the poor have experienced more of it than the most opulent people on earth. Of course that’s pure speculation on my part.
But really, what is luxury? Expensive clothes and art? In my opinion, it is about comfort and peace of mind. An aesthetic and pleasing ambiance is part of luxury. In every way, luxury is a perspective, not a brand.
If you are lost on a mountain for hours on end or overnight, and it starts to rain and blow sleet, you lack luxuries, no matter how wealthy you are. If unprepared for such an excursion, the wealthy might have fancier gear, but will still suffer the discomforts, the elements, and the fear of death.
From such a perspective, a hot bath and cup of tea are longed for, in your mind, and viewed as the epitome of luxury. If you are lost in a hot desert, the oasis represents a luxury powerful enough to cause you to hallucinate the sight of one.
I remember reading somewhere that those who spent extended times in the wilderness after surviving a plane crash, fared better if they imagined food in detail, as opposed to those who tried not to think about food at all.
In cases of hypothermia, it is common for people to undress before they die. If they do not take off all clothing, they often remove just their footwear. Search and rescue are stymied when they find a missing person’s hiking boots, with no evidence of animal predation, or obvious reason for taking them off.
Humans are paradoxical in so many ways. There is much speculation about the reasons for undressing in the final stages of hypothermia. It is probably something instinctual in relation to the skewed electrical signals in the body, and decreasing level of consciousness. Some say it is a survival mechanism to increase vasoconstriction, in order to preserve the core temperature. But that doesn’t really make sense to me, since the core needs warming, not more exposure. The skin is the bodies largest organ, so our basic instinct is to protect and cover our skin when it is cold.
Luxury seems to be more closely related to warmth, stability, and relaxation. It is something you can hold close, like a warm stone. It is natural to slip into, easy to hug close around you, but not too sloppy to answer the door. Luxury is merino wool and cashmere socks inside your favourite pair of old and worn leather boots. Luxury is making it another few miles when you are tired, without stumbling and doing a face plant. It is reaching a destination, the one you have in your mind long before you get there.
In the past couple of years, pomposity has gone by the wayside. Luxury has been humbled. Over indulgence is rapidly becoming a garish and wasteful form of luxury. Huge carbon footprints are no longer idolized.
But what about our obsession with textiles and fashion? Has society ever abandoned the concept of adding art to enhance comfort, colour and beauty? Style is part of self expression and personal identity. Everyone has a certain style, which seems to match their personality.
Luxury, in one form or another is for everyone. If we have gratitude, we know a hot bath is a luxury. I believe we are very fortunate to have so much luxury. I also believe it is far better to buy quality and keep it for a long time, as opposed to fast fashion. Fast fashion fills up the landfills with excessive waste. It also exacerbates the use of petrochemicals, since most cheap things are made of polyester. Some polyester is superior to other polyesters, but even so…
Luxury leans toward natural fibres, in my opinion. Natural fibres make so much more sense, both for comfort and for the environment. This includes the use of leathers that are byproducts of the food industry. Natural fibres last longer, protect us better, and are less harmful to the environment. Nothing beats merino wool in cold weather.
High fashion is somewhat like music, art and other memorabilia. Some things are worth keeping and preserving, since they will never be made again. Who makes hats with intricate rows of contrasting feathers in this day and age? If they do try to make something similar, it certainly does not look like a 1950’s Ellen Faith hat. Quality and fashionable items have lasting value, if they are taken care of. They are part of the arts and culture of every era, and every country in the world.
Luxury is thought of as being everything from fancy cars, and python bags, to jet-setting, and indulging in seven course meals. Yet, luxury can just as easily be donning a warm pair of slippers, and pouring a steaming dark roast coffee, to watch the sun rise over the mountains. It is even better if you can sit quietly and listen to the trill, the distinctive woo woo sounds of the Mourning doves.
Whatever your luxuries this holiday season – May you have the luxury of peace of mind. Also, the luxury of seeing loved ones without rigid controls, rejections, restrictions, or conflicts.
Freedom is a luxury now. I hope we can all be encouraged to know our minds are free. We can question things, disagree or agree. We can talk to each other, research, read, observe, and formulate our own opinions. Freedom to think, is the way it has always been.
In so many ways, the battle for ultimate freedom has already been won. We just have to be patient, and carry on like normal people. Who would have ever believed normal would become the new luxury?
I wish all people a normal Christmas, with all the comforts and luxury of love, warmth and acceptance.
We can “safely” acknowledge that no one can cast out, or separate us from the bonds of love that bind a family together, no matter how great the intrusion or abuse of power.
May the downcast be blessed. May the arrogant be brought to their senses, in the midst of abundance and luxuries. May all of our hearts hold love – in spite of it all.
This Christmas wish is for blessings to all polarized people. Unity would be a true luxury. It brings harmony. Harmony can do no harm.
What are ideas, but words given to thoughts and expressions? We are free to undress words before the final stages of system failure – ’cause they don’t freeze, yet they freeze in time. We can examine words for truth, and draw our own conclusions. We don’t have to bury them on the hillsides. We can embrace and share words, as one of the luxuries of living in a democratic country.
Our values are strong. We weather the storms. Love is a constant. Truth is important. And luxury? It is a changing look.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
I am beginning to wonder if drugs are already the leading cause of death, to include alcohol and tobacco, along with all pharmaceutical and street drugs. The notion is not far-fetched when you consider this takes in all accidental overdoses, accidents related to impaired judgement, violence relating to drugs, hospital drug errors, adverse reactions, and drug incompatibilities when a person has a chemical soup of drugs within their system.
The only reason I have an understanding of addiction, is because of my own background and family history. I do understand what the cycle of addiction is, and how it can be shuffled onto a different circuit.
For some people, especially those from very stable backgrounds, addiction is difficult to understand. There does seem to be a genetic trend. Most of all, there is a trauma trend within the family of origin. Addiction is escapism. It is an attempt to elevate the mood, and block out pain.
When opiates were given out en masse, such as when Oxycontin was first introduced, and Tylenol #3’s were handed out like candy, it was known that opiates are addictive. Alcohol seems to be more insidious. But regardless, the cycle of addiction is one of shame and escapism.
If there is a strong sense of familial judgement and rejection, or a loss of sense of self, a person struggles to cope. The only way to cope in a world that you don’t seem to belong in, is to try and find ways to escape it. Of course, that’s not the logical and healthy way to deal with things, but you don’t realize it until you are in too deep.
Addiction is kind of like wading or swimming in crocodile infested waters. Some are oblivious to the danger that lurks below. Some can go swimming hundreds of times and never encounter a croc. Others get grabbed, rolled and spit back out. If they wade back in, what is going through their mind?
Addiction grabs certain people and drags them under in no time flat. For others, they might be able to manage their addiction for years, but if they are faced with trying circumstances, like family breakdown or an accident, they become vulnerable.
Addiction in my opinion, is driven by fear, trauma, escapism, and a cycle of shame. Even for those who are addicted to power and wealth – it is a quest to elevate oneself out of that cycle of shame.
Addiction, in all of its forms, does lead to illness and multiple co-morbidities. It robs quality of life. It destroys the family lives of millions of innocent children. It ostracizes and excludes, which increases the alienation and downward spiral.
Yet paradoxically, some of the most brilliant and creative minds were also the most addicted. Just look at all the great musicians who succumbed to addiction. Or probably one of the most incredible dichotomies is that of comedian and actor Robin Williams. His brilliance and wit was a polarized diversion, and self distraction from the pain within. He is probably the most profound example of the two faces in Greek theatre – one comic, the other tragic. He was honest about his alcohol addiction, and as a result, his humanity and compassion deepened.
Going through addiction is life altering. The addiction itself becomes the biggest threat to survival. Once addicted, it is not only the family of origin, rejection, grief, and inner demons that caused you to seek out the escape route in the first place. You keep all those things filed away, and find yourself in a bigger snare than ever. The substance, or whatever is feeding the addiction has to be stopped before the central cause can be addressed.
In many cases, addictions are simply substituted for something equally addictive or even worse. The alcoholic might get prescriptions for benzodiazepines. The opiate addict might get a prescription for methadone. The tobacco addict might start smoking the occasional cigar. We are all capable of creating a dizzying game of spin the bottle – to point us to another option, that leads to the same conclusion.
Although everyone has a different journey in life, and addiction is a soul journey more than anything, my opinion is just one of many. But, through it all – I believe the only viable option is to quit. Don’t necessarily quit cold turkey, since many drugs must be tapered to avoid severe and sometimes dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
But first and foremost, the addict has to contemplate, and then make a firm decision to quit. Then we must reconcile the fact it is not quitting alone that is going to save us. The solution is in quitting, and never starting again. I realize it goes against the grain of those who advocate for compassion and acceptance of failures and relapses. By all means, shake the failures off and carry on – but never lose sight of the fact that quitting is the only path to recovery, to feeling better, to getting over the past, and to overall healing.
From a neurochemistry perspective, addiction is tied to dopamine and adrenalin. If you take the adrenalin cycle involved in family trauma, is it any wonder people develop escapist methods of coping? Adrenalin is meant to prepare people for flight or fight. But if you are in a family dynamic, or a situation where you can do neither, the natural inclination will be to find other methods of escapism.
It also helps to explain why some people have to deal with a significant amount of suppressed anger, as part of the recovery process. If you have never been permitted to assert yourself, it is like braking out of chains at first. Geographical cures might work for awhile, especially if you have to physically distance from an abuser or an untenable situation. However, the monkey on your back might stick to you no matter what.
In a sense, we have to develop a lightening rod to ground ourselves during times of hurt feelings, and the whole flight or fight chaos within. The adrenalin component, once settled down to a more normal neurochemistry, will still be triggered. Peace of mind increases with faith. Faith is knowing that eventually there will be justice.
Every facet of health care has to deal with addiction. In maternity, you see addicted moms and babies going through withdrawal. In the emergency departments you see people who are referred to as frequent flyers, who are there to get drugs for chronic pain. In liver clinics, there is liver failure and hepatitis from drug or alcohol abuse. In surgical units you see people go into detox when they are admitted without staff knowing what they are addicted to. In geriatrics you see the falls, disorientation and cognitive decline related to alcohol, sleeping pills, and other prescription drugs.
In fact, addiction is so pervasive and so common, it is the proverbial elephant in the room. It is inappropriate to accuse someone of drug seeking. What about the person who has chronic pain or is still requesting opiates for surgery they had three months ago? Somewhere along the line, someone needs to warn them. Not with judgemental shaming, but with an open conversation about what to expect if the drug is continued. People need to learn about the physiological effects of addiction. They need to correlate it with gut health, liver health, brain health and evaluate how it is affecting them, before they get to the point they cannot even read.
The more unwilling we are to learn about addiction, the more denial there is surrounding it. There are so many tragic stories. The parents of young people who overdose often don’t realize the extent of the addiction until it is too late. We have to keep in mind that contrary to what many people believe, addiction is prevalent among high achievers.
What do we have to quit? We can’t quit food. We can’t quit making money. We can’t quit where we came from, our genetic markers, past trauma etc. But we can quit whatever has plunged us into a toxic cycle of self-destructive abuse. Some things are far more damaging and gripping than other things.
Any substance that causes withdrawal when you try to quit should be a big red flag. Harm reduction involves self care, in particular good nutrition and an alert mind. There are spiritual forces greater than we are – that can grab us, and drive us back into the abyss. We have to find ways to resist.
The relapse rate following rehab is over 90% What does that tell us? Quitting doesn’t last, so what is the point? Or does it tell us we are going about things the wrong way? I watched one program where a thirty something year old person was describing her addictions. She had been to rehab seventeen times, and did not think the programs were tailored to her specific needs and personality. Forget that. It is obviously not working anyway.
Instead, people need support during detox from a medical and physical perspective. After that, the process of rehab should not require long stints in a facility. If it does, the facility should be on a farm out in the boonies somewhere. Rehab involves a multi-layered approach, with family at the centre of the support system. If not family, a community network supporting job skills and talk therapy. There is no point in going through rehab only to return to the same environment you came out of. The paradigm has to shift. Most reasonably healthy people can go through detox to get past the acute phase, followed by a focused recovery plan and change in old habits.
Addiction is about worthlessness. Our society has taught us that we are worthwhile based on image, wealth, jobs, education, and what we own. If we have nothing, we are far closer to being worthless than if we have a nice house and fancy car. But what many learn, is that addiction can be hiding behind the closed mansion doors, just as easily as it can be on the streets.
If we try to elevate our worth by accumulating stuff, it makes for distraction, but it does not really work to elevate self worth. If we try to look good, we feel fake. If we try to do good, it seems futile. If we try to belong, we get rejected.
What does that leave us with? And who is driving our destiny? I have come to believe that addiction is a spiritual journey. The most valuable lesson on a personal level, is if you are vulnerable – don’t go near the croc infested waters. If you get grabbed and rolled, and make it out alive – thank God, and do not wade back in.
Every addict is an extension of their family. It is not a matter of seeking who to blame – but how to offer love, acceptance, and understanding for the original and authentic person. Rather than focus on the bad behaviour or shame associated with the addiction, people need positive affirmations. They need to know they are not ALL bad.
At the same time, we all need to take responsibility for our own lives, and possible contributions to either enabling, or to the shaming and rejection that exacerbates addiction and family breakdown. Adults with dominating traits need to listen to the other members of the family, and stop trying to control them. The intimidating sense of disapproval, combined with being crafted into someone else’s plot, is dehumanizing and oppressive. It is designed to push a person into escapism since reality takes away your freedoms.
Family breakdown is central to addiction, and is responsible for intergenerational patterns. The weak and vulnerable in such situations do not survive. Or sometimes it is the rebel who becomes the family outcast. There is a circuitry of love within a family, like an electric current. If there is a broken or outcast link or connection, it contributes to a broken family.
There will always be conflicts in life. But a stable family remains intact, and every individual is forced to examine themselves without revolving around a set power structure. Individuals need to be heard in order to be empowered. Some people actually are mentally ill. Some are character disordered, or addicted, or whatever. But if a family is tormented, there will be much more addiction, and intergenerational patterns of addiction.
It is important to find ways to resolve our differences without dehumanizing another member of the family, or trying to get rid of a family member. To do so breaks the family bonds. It shows a lack of responsibility and a lack of vision. The patterns have to be identified and broken – instead of repeating the patterns, and breaking the family.
Addiction robs people of who they are. We only see the scrappy tent and pile of garbage, without seeing the person inside. Every addict was once a child. Every child and every human being deserves love. Love is the rock to climb onto if you fall out of the boat in dangerous waters.
For those who love their own lives too much, they will lose it. For those who love others, we will gain the spiritual reckoning that saves us.
In my own experience, the answer to this question is an obvious no. As long as there are people who accumulate wealth, and use their wealth to influence more grandiosity and protection for themselves, there will be people at the other end of the spectrum, who do not fare well.
For the most part, whether it is gender, race, or religion that breeds superiority – it is fuelled by wealth as the common denominator. The wealthiest people, regardless of gender, race, religion, age, education, or location – are the people who make up the elite.
The elite are set apart, vastly superior, and have power over those who do not have money. In fact, they have the power to prevent their competition from getting a foot in the door. They have the power to destroy careers. They influence government, and give out contracts to the smaller companies. They are experienced and invincible.
Ruthless abuse of power constantly erodes democracy, fair play, and makes it so no one can challenge them or get past them. Corporate power takes over government. They set up a caste system with layers and levels of ranking, and then keep a close eye on those rising up in the ranks. They donate large sums of money to whatever suits their agenda. They have an aura of total confidence and authority.
People are impressed by those who have wealth. When you are among the wealthy, it is incredible how well you get treated by waitresses, stewardesses, and baggage handlers on a corporate jet, gardeners, horse trainers, pool cleaners, you name it. They think you are one of the elite just by association. Of course they don’t really know the situation, but the mere fact you are in a huge house, on a big property with fountains and walking trails, in an expensive car, or on a corporate jet, gives you a sense of how the wealthy are treated.
Many people believe the wealthy are like nobility. They deserve their wealth, and the poor deserve their lot in life. Some take it the extreme, and do not believe there should be any support systems for single mothers, widows, children in poverty, the disabled, the addicted, and so on. They see it as enabling and increasing the problem, when all those poor people need to do, is get a job. Some of the wealthier individuals believe they worked for what they have, why shouldn’t everyone? Do or die. Sink or swim. Work or starve.
But one of the key things to keep in mind is that not all wealthy people worked for their wealth. Some women get wealthy based on who they married, and never have a job in their lives. If they do, it is short lived and gives them something to talk about for the next thirty years.
Women who develop a solid career path, either become puppets for the old boys club, or they have to fight the stigmatization and glass ceiling every step of the way. The real gatekeepers are the powerful men, like my brother, who would not give a woman the time of the day, when it comes to real power. Some men inherited prestige, companies, real estate, and the wealth to go with it. They are often much more naive and gullible than the hard nosed, street smart, ladder climbers – from the old dog network.
Why do women succumb to this power? If you do the bidding of powerful men, you get rewarded. If not, you get punished. Therefore, women have very little influence when it comes to high ranking corporate board rooms and decision making. They respect bright and ambitious young men. Women – not so much. Women do domestic duties and look after children. They choose their token women very carefully.
The governments change, and the people in charge of the various facets of government change frequently. That means the corporate elite, with their ear to the ground, can find ways to manipulate and influence those people. After all, the corporate elite is the one entity that remains constant. They do not get exposed. They do not get voted out. Yet they are pulling strings non-stop. They can donate large sums of money to a favourite cause, and they expect favours in return.
We all know the drill and how the wheels are greased. Women who get into business need capital. Where do they get the money? They have to inherit it – or marry it, in most cases. There are very few women who make hundreds of millions of dollars on their own, unless they are famous movie stars or musicians. And even for them, they get tied to controls over their image, contracts, and marketing. They are still objectified by men.
The problem is that the greater the polarization between men and women, the greater the income gap, and power over women. This has a drastic effect on the potential of half the population. The greater the polarity between the rich and the poor, the more likely the poor will remain poor. The pursue, conquer, and dominate models of male superiority, create archetypes foreign to our more cooperative sensibilities. Therefore, we don’t know how to be cruel and ruthless, if it is not in our nature.
For those who are downtrodden, it is very difficult to even lift your head up and look around. You feel like you will get pounced on all over again. When you do try to climb out of the hole they forced you into, they are standing there with clubs, to prevent you from reaching higher ground. Submission is the order of not just the day – but an entire lifetime.
What makes another person so vastly superior? Education, family pedigree, knowledge, brilliance, leadership abilities? None of these. It is the accumulation of wealth at any cost, for the sake of power. It is based on the dominance instinct. Once there is a certain level of arrogance and dominance achieved, they have a network in place to protect them, and keep them there. No one can challenge them, or uproot them once they have reached the king of the castle pinnacle. The arrogance is what creates the elitism. The collusion holds them together.
Do I think my brother worked hard throughout his lifetime? Yes, in many ways he has worked hard. But how many people work hard, without ending up with hundreds of millions of dollars, and multiple huge homes? Most of us would be happy to have one nice home, and one good car. But the accumulation of wealth has to have some perks. It has to have the image to go with it all. For the elite, there is no filling the coffers, or the bank accounts with enough money. They always want more. It is the ultimate addiction, and more destructive than all the homeless people in the world.
None of us should look at a homeless camp, without also looking at the effects of extreme wealth, and why there is such a disparity in the first place. Polarizations need to have both poles. The more extremism we see, the more we know the power of the elite. In a sense, the elite are creating a mirror image of their own value system. They are seeing a reflection of the carnage of their own souls.
I really don’t care if people become wealthy, if it is legitimate, and does not harm or exploit anyone. If you build a better mouse trap, or figure out how to prevent wildfires – you deserve to be wealthy. The issue for me, is when wealth is achieved by creating a disadvantage for someone else.
I do not think a person’s worth or intrinsic value is measured by their wealth. In fact, the elite will find out how valuable their wealth is – when it comes time to leave this world. When they become sick and end up on their death bed, they may have their water delivered to them in a fancy cup, but they will not take any of their money, or image of wealth with them. In fact, they will not even be able to control what happens to their wealth once they leave this world. Unless a person is iconic like Elvis or Marilyn Monroe – we all get forgotten in no time at all.
Then we have the offspring of the elites. They end up with a great deal of money, without having worked for it. It creates individuals who are secure financially, but insecure on a personal level. The insecurity increases the need to act superior. Unlike those who had a hard scrabble beginning, and climbed their way to the top, the wealthy offspring get shuttled back and forth to private schools, and are put on a shining pedestal, without having to do anything. In many ways, becoming an elite – is just the luck of the draw.
Our society has created this dichotomy of wealth and elitism. Power comes with a hidden agenda, and those who have been corrupted by it, must stick with the agenda, in order to protect themselves. That is how corruption is cultivated and spreads. The top dogs set up the maze, and only they know how to get through it. They allow others to gain ground only if they are useful, and mostly if they have the talent, abilities, or contacts – to do their bidding.
Personally, I believe all people are equal. When we see a person who is down and out, we have no clue what they have been through in life, and what demons they are battling. We do not all have the same abilities or opportunities, but human dignity and an egalitarian outlook, is what keeps our humanity. The more judgemental, the more labelling, the more blame and punishment – the crueler and more selfish we become.
It is much easier to justify harming another person, if you think they are a subhuman. It is easier to take things away from someone if you think they do not even deserve to exist. When you bring it down to the polarized opposites on the spectrum of wealth and power, the person with hundreds of millions of dollars, can rob a person who has nothing. Without wealth, a person has their personhood, and that’s about it. When the extreme wealthy want to take away who you are, and your right to exist in this world, they have truly lost their way.
Some of us are not as motivated by money as others are. Those who are very strongly motivated will do just about anything to achieve wealth. This is why it is important to have business leaders who have some ethics. The lack of ethics robs fair play, prevents women from gaining ground in the corporate world, and maintains a divisive societal control and arrogance. The reward side is tempting – the punitive side is excruciating.
In my opinion, no one oversees the huge corporations. Everyone from the governments to the banks cater to them no matter what they do. In fact, the government in many ways are transient employees of the system. They get shuffled around, or they only have a number of years in power. The same thing with the banks. People who work for the banks are employees of the banks.
The owners of big corporations can, and do, use their wealth and constancy to influence both the government and the banks. The elitism they convey is impressive. They get to influence straight to the top.
If you happen to be born into the wealth, or marry into it, life takes a different course. If you happen to be a threat to a person in power, especially one of the corporate elites – look out. You are a target for life, and do not stand a chance.
When the big corporations get to the point where they have no oversight, no family values, no anti-bullying policies, no accountability – they have created the foundation for fascism. It is all about power, dominance and control. They know how to carry out the reward and punishment system, better than anyone. After all, the rewards they set up for themselves, is what makes them so elite and superior.
They create a self serving and self fulfilling prophecy for their own lives. But it is all to the detriment of a fair and equitable society – and worse yet, there is no end in sight.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Our soul consists of our mind, our memories, our genetic and cultural history, our hearts, our spirits, and our beliefs. It is the only thing we take with us when we go…
As a society we have always had a central focus on the prevention of physical attacks. It is understandable, since physical attacks can cause injury and physical death.
What can be said about the attacks on the mind and spirit though? It is especially heinous, if those attacks are part of a plot or scheme to brainwash, shame, undermine, and rob you of who you are.
For those who believe in a spiritual world and afterlife, the attacks on the mind and spirit become much more relevant. When we face such attacks, we are being targeted for total destruction and annihilation.
If a person loses value for his or her own life – they will not take care of themselves physically or mentally. Effective soul destroying does not always require physical attacks. All it takes is someone who is sadistically abusing power. All they need is access to their victim without any oversight. They will continually and ritualistically undermine your existence, guilt-trip and shame you – just for existing. Your origin is somehow faulty and reprehensible.
Admittedly many churches throughout the world have done good things to help those in need. However, there is a polarity of extremes among the churches. There is an evil aspect to certain religious dogma. The systems, hierarchy, and doctrine of some of those churches, comes from the abyss.
Do not be deceived. By their fruits we shall know them. Any church dogma that brainwashes, causes family breakdown, targets and exploits innocent children, abuses power, lies about, attacks the mind – or the parents, grandparents, history and culture of ANY person – is evil to the core.
What is so evil about it? There are verses in the Bible that tell us not to fear physical death, but to fear those who can destroy the soul.
Anyone who sets out to attack your mind and soul is ultimately trying to annihilate you. I am not talking about intervention surrounding those with serious mental health and addiction issues. If a person loses self-control, becomes violent, or is unable to care for themselves, they need detox and care.
I am talking about the attack on the mind of an otherwise functioning individual, as a way to gang up on, control, and destroy the soul. They are opportunistically waiting for signs of weakness or vulnerability. They are not out to help, they ensnare. They are making false accusations in order to bolster a pre-existing agenda. They are out to punish and basically get rid of you. Why? The answer is – foundational lies and buried secrets. This can be carried over into generational patterns very easily. Bondage does not always have visible bindings.
Attacking young children in such a way is designed to condition a response of fear and cowering. After all, when we are under attack, adrenalin is our physical resource. Adrenalin kicks in to prepare us for flight or fight. When we can do neither – what happens to all that adrenalin and how it signals our system?
Buried secrets do not stay buried – as we can see by what is happening in the news today.
As a kid on the farm, I recall we had many dogs over the years. Some stayed a long time, and some were short lived. They were bad if they started wandering in packs at night and chasing livestock. They were bad if they killed chickens, or if they bit the tails of the cows to draw blood.
One dog I recall being very excited to get (at first) was a rambunctious all white husky pup who was almost full grown, and big and fluffy. He was not inherently mean, just bounding around all over the place. He was very excited about the chickens.
As the youngest girl in the family, gathering eggs, and taking care of the chickens – was my domain. I was supposed to be in charge of the chickens, and had named every one of them. It was a daily battle trying to deter such a determined, big goofy dog, from chasing the chickens. His name was Snowball, and his chicken chasing matched his name. He got worse instead of better, and everywhere he went, there was a pile of feathers.
As time went on, he would chase and catch a chicken, and rip its feathers out. He did not kill or injure them, other than chasing, pouncing, holding them down, and tearing out mouthfuls of feathers each time. He did not rip out all the feathers at once, but there would be a bald spot. It was a big fun game to him. Stupidly – he scoffed at being scolded.
Eventually, a good percentage of the chickens were running around naked. As a young kid, what amazed me, was that after awhile – the chickens did not even try to run away. As soon as they saw him coming, they crouched down and cowered, waiting for the inevitable.
To me it demonstrated that a conditioning to dominance, will eventually cause one to cower. If we are repeatedly dominated, and our efforts to get away are futile – why waste the energy?
It also explained why this beautiful white husky was so generously given to us. We did the same – and soon gave him away. Conditioning us to fear, means we are being forced into compliance and inaction – when we need to either escape it, or fight back. Personally, I will readily admit that overcoming fear has been difficult – due to the dominance and frequent attacks. But fear is one of the self destructing elements they are using against us. So we must overcome it.
Make no mistake. Attacks on the soul are an attempt to blot you out of existence, both past and future. When you consider all eternity, and the entire scope of it – trying to annihilate other human beings using soul destroying techniques such as brainwashing and dehumanizing children, brings us to the pinnacle of evil.
One of the most poignant things I read many years ago, but cannot find the exact quote went something like this: The present moment does not recede into the past as one may think. It is projected into the future, where it waits patiently to meet us a later date. So true. I believe the author is Gilbert K. Chesterton.
In my own experiences and lifelong struggle to get free of a religious fundamentalist teacher – NO ONE listens to the victim. No matter how much you cry, beg, plead, and give your own testimony of the layers upon layers of abuse. No one will listen.
Some things simply cannot be covered up, buried, or ignored. No matter how many people they manage to get rid of through all of the abuses – the truth will surface. God will punish those who do soul destroying harm to innocent children. Once it starts, it just never ends – until those responsible admit wrongdoing, and make changes to the systems.
To even attempt to destroy another person’s soul – invites the wrath of God. Those holier-than-thou religious fundamentalists – should know that much. But arrogance does not permit them to see themselves as they really are.
This is probably the biggest question of the era we are living in. We see so many news articles accusing people of spreading misinformation, yet what we are hearing is like shifting sand. It is constantly changing.
Science evolves – so we are told. Isn’t it ironic then – to be telling others they are spreading misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories? Who is to say those news articles are truthful? The media is not the least bit reliable for delivering truth, so who are they to be brow beating others?
No matter what anyone says – truth does not evolve. It is the one thing in life that is constant. Truth will eventually rise to the surface on all controversial topics.
If you ever watch true crime documentaries, one of the key things police look for is inconsistencies and lies. For the guilty who refuse to confess, the story constantly changes. The story evolves based on the evidence presented. For instance, a person may claim they were not at a certain place at a certain time. Then when they get presented with evidence to the contrary, suddenly they change, or add to the story.
How do the police identify or get confirmation when a person is lying? The police like to get the original story from the person they are interviewing as soon as possible, and get it documented. That way, they have something to compare it to when they do the next interview. It also gives them something to use as a baseline when they are collecting other evidence, to see if the actual evidence contradicts what the person told them. That evidence based documentation, is what is used by the prosecutors in court.
So our first clue in discerning truth, would be that the story changes, and it changes often. Lies are built upon other lies, sometimes with a bit of truth thrown in, just to add a convincing component.
The first step is to evaluate the consistency of what we are being told, and how much the story changes or gets added to. To hear bureaucrats say, “Oh but we are learning as we go” is no different than saying “I have no clue, or am lying, and don’t want to be held accountable for it”.
Nowadays many people are accused of spreading misinformation, when they are simply giving a testimony of their own experiences and observations. Testimonies are part of the judicial proceedings, when truth is being sought after. We are allowed to give truthful testimony, based on our own experiences, and first hand observations. I really don’t think anyone should be able to take that away from us.
Deception is tricky business. To avoid deception, we have to actively seek the truth, respect the truth, and actually love the truth. Truth is not the author of confusion. Lies create confusion. If there is confusion in truth, people should be able to ask questions, until they are satisfied.
Lies in one way or another, get forced on people. Even those who are doing the deceiving, are deceived and building a worldview based on lies. Truth is revealed to people who sincerely seek it. That is the key and fundamental difference between the two. No amount of arguing in the world will change the mind of someone who is truly deluded with lies. Lies, once accepted or believed, can create deeply rooted strong delusions, even among very intelligent people.
But what if we are deceived about things we simply do not understand? Things like climate change, viruses, and vaccines – are topics too vast and controversial for most people to understand. And even for those who do have advanced education in these fields, there are massive and often polarized differences of opinions.
Now there are lies embodied and homogenized from the political, into the personal health choices for all individuals in the world. Should a person be called a conspiracy theorist for wondering if some of the vaccine marketing campaign is driven by profit motive? Or would we be stupid not to consider that as a possibility at least? After all, money is one of the most powerful motivators known to humankind. People will sell their souls for money, and they will take yours too. So how dare we ask? How dare we use our own judgment?
We have gone from the respect for personal autonomy, consent and privacy in health care – to somehow making choice a collective experience or societal need. All of a sudden, personal choices, discernment, and doubt are bad things – something to be chastised and ridiculed over. Yet, when you think of the millions of drugs, treatments, invasive procedures, etc. the concept of removing consent in health care is where true anarchy would come from.
Health care cannot be collective anyway. Not everyone has cancer. People need different things on an individual basis. No one does triage in ER, and collectively puts everyone at the same level. Some people are injured in car accidents. Others are sick from a chronic disease. How can health care possibly view an individual’s care as being part of a collective society?
You cannot rob the individual of choice, and then claim it is for the collective good. If so – it is a very slippery slope. Health care has the ability to take things from dystopian political levels – to the depths of the pit. That pit – will be our fate, if they abandon the central component of the Hippocratic Oath and concept of “first do no harm” in health care.
After all, health care has the drugs that can kill people quickly and efficiently. Once a person is stripped down, and on a stretcher with nothing but a gown and a wrist band on, that person is totally vulnerable, especially if they are medicated or sick. I am not saying the system is untrustworthy or that intentional harm is happening. I am simply saying that people are vulnerable when they end up in hospital. The system has a responsibility to maintain ethics and trust.
If the system robs trust, or gears up to do whatever they want to do to a person without informed consent, that would be medical anarchy, or lead to a true medical mafia. One would think and hope that democratic countries can maintain reliable and stable health care systems, and would never do that. Let’s hope ethics and informed consent do not get turfed over covid, along with a very aggressive marketing/ad campaign for a myriad of different vaccines.
The issues over vaccine safety and dosing intervals, has created a great deal of confusion. Is it any wonder there is an erosion of trust? But rather than see there are valid reasons for the mistrust, they denigrate and label people for having the mistrust. That is no different than ganging up on people, and is a bullying tactic, not a fair political tactic. It is certainly not the basis for any scientific arguments either.
In many of the US states, they are offering lottery tickets, cash prizes, vouchers, and various other incentives to get people to take the vaccines. Although I see that as being quite tacky – at least it maintains choice, which is crucial.
Any level of intuitive discernment, or doubt, or truth seeking, is seen as selfish. It is framed into a shaming, peer pressure onslaught involving a wide range accusations, labelling and name calling. It is viewed by some, as being some kind of a renegade individualist, with no concern for the collective good and survival of all people. Whoa – wait a minute.
First of all – all people are going to die eventually. So using the survival of all, and the threat of death – is a very questionable approach to begin with. From Wikipedia ” An estimate on the “total number of people who have ever lived” as of 1995 was calculated by Haub (1995) at “about 105 billion births since the dawn of the human race” with a cut-off date at 50,000 BC (beginning of the Upper Paleolithic), and inclusion of a high infant mortality rate throughout pre-modern history.
You do not have to be a mathematician or genius to figure out how many people have died so far. The big difference is that death was never used to stop people from living their lives before. Life stopped for the dead, not for the living. Nor was life ever structured around death, but rather survival. We have never before been brainwashed with daily doom and gloom on the number of deaths. The history of humanity has never sank so low, at least not while people are still alive.
One of the best stories and illustrations about this and well worth watching, is the story about the Donner-Reed party in 1846. It is about a group of pioneers who set out on a journey by wagon train, from the midwest to California. They were talked into taking the uncharted route, by a fast talking, lying young lawyer, who was just twenty-seven years old, and had never taken the route himself.
The journey was basically a disaster for them. They got bogged down in salt mines, and gradually had to abandon a significant amount of supplies. They also lost livestock, and quickly ran out of water. After the salt mines, they got trapped and snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Many of them starved to death. Although it has been quite a few years since I watched that documentary, I found it to be profound on numerous levels.
One aspect of the story is that the families who chose to take the alternative route laid out by the dodgy lawyer, had a fairly distinct gap in personal wealth. The wealthier family had way more supplies, and brought quite a bit of frivolous stuff. So this family had to build a double decker wagon train to hold it all. That wagon train was the first thing to be lost, since the weight of it made it very difficult to traverse narrow mountain trails, and when they reached the salt mines, it sank and they could not get it out.
In the end, only a handful of them survived the journey. Interesting to note is that all of the survivors were women, as well as one twelve year old boy. After seeing the story, I do not view the fact that only women survived, as being due to women having more mind over matter strength. I think it was simply because women have less muscle mass, and did not starve as fast. If they had not managed to walk out – not one of them would have survived. Stories with survivors are the best, because those who survive can explain what happened. They can give their testimony, making it an achievement – as opposed to a catastrophic loss, without knowledge of how it all came about.
One thing the Donner-Reed documentary does demonstrate, is that people cannot stop living because others have died. Otherwise, no one would survive. For sure, these were extreme conditions, and they did need to stay together and help each other for as long as possible – but the living had to go on in spite of the deaths. This is something we see in all survival stories. It is the reason survivor’s have so much guilt until they come to terms with the trauma they had to go through. We really don’t know why some survive and others do not. Not one of us even knows the number of our own days.
Fate is death and death is fate. It is only a matter of timing.
Another thing that muddies the waters of truth, is that there has been a widespread problem with ghost writing, and plagiarizing in medical journals. We have learned about the powerful lobbying associated with the pharmaceutical companies when it comes to many of the articles in those medical journals.
Surely some of them are truthful, but sifting enormous amounts of information is tough to do, especially when it is dry as a bone medical terminology. Most of that terminology is foreign to the layperson, or to those who have worked in entirely different fields.
Since I worked as an RN for many years, I can pick out inconsistencies in what many media journalists write. It is because they are not familiar with what goes on in hospitals, and they often describe very mundane and common things in hyperbolic terms – especially when it comes to covid. Also, when they show pictures of people claiming they are deathly ill just because they have some nasal cannulas delivering oxygen, does not mean much. It especially does not mean much if the person’s colour is good, and they are talking away like normal.
We have heard many claims that people are infected but asymptomatic. I have also read that some otherwise young and healthy people have gone to a clinic or hospital and were told their O2 sats were dangerously low, and they did not even know it. Although I only read about those strange claims in the news, I find it hard to believe based on my experiences as an RN. To be brutally honest, it seems more like fear-provoking nonsense directed at people who do not understand anything about medicine.
Speaking of the new medical trend of being so cat-ostrophic – the only time I had pet cats, was as a kid on the farm. So that could be why I have often wondered about the idiom “curiosity killed the cat”. Maybe it is because I am quite curious myself. I distinctly remember the first time I heard the expression when I was in grade school, because at the tender age of six or seven, I thought, “Oh No! I may not live long!”.
But in actual fact, this idiom was first penned in the late 1500’s and at that time, it was not curiosity that killed the cat – but care that killed it. Now that does make much more sense, albeit in a warped sort of way.
Shakespeare used a similar quote in his circa 1599 play, Much Ado About Nothing: “What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care. “
The proverb remained the same until at least 1898. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer included this definition in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Care killed the Cat. It is said that “a cat has nine lives,” yet care would wear them all out.”
Now, I am beginning to think the original meaning of this idiom is the truth, not the adapted version we are all so familiar with. When we look at the situation in long term care facilities, we can see that care not only kills the cats!
Is truth prevalent among the masses? Or is truth based on the individual’s choices and perceptions? We can accept there is truth in what we can all observe such as the seasons, and the fact the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But when it comes to what we cannot see, we have to believe the basics of what we are taught, at least to a certain extent.
For example, we know there is an electromagnetic spectrum, even though our eyes only detect visible light, because there are ways in which we can observe the infrared, such as in satellite imagery or night vision goggles. We know that radio, microwave and x-rays are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, since they enable these things to function.
But there are many things that we cannot prove. In fact, there are many things no one can prove. So many theories have been pitched as fact, when they are not factual at all. There is probably no greater deception than a theory based upon a false foundation, then layered with more and more convoluted fallacies. These are the deceptions that are the most difficult to unravel.
How does white collar crime get away with so much? They fudge the numbers. They make a knotty (naughty) labyrinth, so things are so twisted and confusing, it is very difficult to decipher, or trace the pathways back to the original deception. Some of the fraudulent practices have taken years to untangle.
Just look what happened to Bernie Madoff. He had years of living the high life, then got sentenced to 150 years in prison, and died in prison. In addition, his son committed suicide, and his wife, who married him at the age of eighteen, had no love for him either. Ruth Madoff said she didn’t miss her husband. She said: “The villain of all this is behind bars.” Was all that money worth it?
Truth is very important. We are all fallible. We all make many mistakes throughout the course of our lives. I have come to the conclusion that more than anything else, we are best to not only seek the truth, but to love truth – and pray for the ability to discern the truth.
I know not everyone believes in the Biblical proverbs and warnings about deception. But the Bible does repeatedly advise us not to be deceived. There are also over four hundred verses that specifically tell us not to have fear. Why? Because the pursuit of truth requires courage.
And finally – it is a relief to know, it was really not curiosity that killed the cat.
So go ahead, jump right in – be curious, and fear not. If we seek the truth, we will find it. The truth will always surface. Lies are the weeds in the fields, soon to be chaff in the wind. Our intuition and minds, are the best, and only defence against lies.
Lies don’t hold water, or any nutrients for the soul – so for those who lie for gain, greed and exploitation, they are doomed in one way or another. Like the example of Bernie Madoff’s life and family life – we see the barren outcomes of that kind of greed. We are only beginning to see the philandering and deception that has been part of the Bill Gates empire.
The ultra rich can make a convoluted mess of billions of dollars. Yet they cannot put two and two together, to save their souls from the consequences of their own greed. Go figure…
Essentially all battles begin with words – and will end with words. We would be wise to choose our words with care. Because unlike the proverbial cat – humans don’t have nine lives.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content
There is nothing like antique Asian pottery. The fascination for these hand-painted works of art is never-ending. The time consuming aspects of creating artwork on porcelain, is truly mind boggling. Every hand decorated piece, is an original work of art, only instead of canvas, it is painted and glazed onto porcelain.
To most of us westerners without much knowledge of the complex history and masterful techniques passed on from one generation to another, to create such works of art, we still have an appreciation and awe of these items. In fact, Europeans and North Americans embraced the Asian aesthetic long ago.
For certain, the historical periods are confusing to the novice. The pottery/porcelain changed significantly throughout the various eras, conflicts and upheavals. This morning I learned this type of pottery had origins in Korea. The early Satsuma pottery dates to the 1600’s.
Originally Satsuma pottery was made of clay, not porcelain. Most of it was made for the Japanese market, not specifically for export. The early pieces are darker in colour, and less decorative (1688-1704) since they were primarily made for practical purposes in local kitchens.
By 1800 the more decorative Satsuma pieces began to emerge, referred to as brocade or nishikide decorations. These were often simple floral patterns using iron red, purples and a small amount of yellow. It is believed the origin of the artwork was from Kyoto during this period. Later on, they started using a gilding of raised gold or kin-nishikide. During this era, and the biggest difference between these earlier pieces, and the later pieces for export – is that they made use of negative space.
In 1867 Satsuma porcelain was featured prominently in the Paris Exposition Universelle, which was considered a success. By 1873 many factories throughout Japan began painting scenes on blank glazed stoneware. Between 1890 and the 1920’s it is estimated there were more than twenty estsuke factories creating Satsuma porcelain for the western market.
When the market began to focus on export, the interpretation of what appealed to western culture began to emerge. The changes to the decoration went from the simple and powerful use of empty space, to what is known as the horror vacui, or fear of empty space. In Greek the term is known as kentophobia, and the filling up of all spaces with artwork became the trend. This was part of the Victorian era trends throughout the world, and was reflected in European artwork as well.
The pieces produced for export in the late 1800’s are considered by some to be garish, however as fewer of these items are available, the appreciation increases. They are hand painted, gilded, and represent an interpretation of western appeal, specifically during an era where empty space in art was almost non-existent.
The few pieces of Satsuma pottery I have picked up over the years, are rich in colour, glazing, floral motifs, birds, and a variety of delightful imagery, with moriage, which is a special type of raised decoration, outlines, and a distinction like none other.
Although this porcelain changed over the years, it is still a culturally significant, and represents an artistic aesthetic that is distinctively Asian. The techniques cannot be replicated in North American or Europe. The history of pottery and porcelain from Asia is second to none.
In my opinion, the later Satsuma pieces are not garish, but idiosyncratic and beautiful. But then, some of us don’t suffer from the fear of empty spaces!
From 1885-1930’s there was a slump in the export market for Satsuma pottery. In addition to changing trends, it had been given negative reviews by many critics and collectors. In 1893 it was not well received at Chicago’s Exposition. However, it’s appeal did linger for several more years, and it remained an export commodity for Japan throughout the Meiji period (1868-1912).
When compared to the earlier and traditional Japanese artwork, the negative critique on the pieces made for the export market is understandable – because the really high end Satsuma porcelain is not flashy or garish. When examined closely, there are no flaws.
But perhaps, the exaggerations for the export market were somewhat maudlin. Who could blame them for interpreting the Victorian era western culture in such a manner? They brought something into existence that was representative of the time frame. It lets us examine not only the art, but shows us how art captures the influences that lead to change.
Even the later, mass produced export pieces of Satsuma porcelain are increasingly rare, so hopefully they will be taken care of, along with other antique artwork, that carries a rich, inherently beautiful, and very complex history.
The enemy, whether you want to call it the devil, or deception, or the great battle between good and evil – attacks our minds. At least it starts there.
First of all, there is no clear definition of mental illness. We each have an estimated 80,000 thoughts per day, which I am sure would vary. But nevertheless, our thoughts alone cannot define us as being mentally ill, because no one knows what another person is thinking about.
Therefore, mental illness must be defined and assessed based on symptoms, and what a person expresses. More importantly, how the person expresses themselves, is an important indicator of mental health.
If we express ourselves intellectually, using language that is clear and straight-forward – we can hardly be accused of being out of control crazy. That is unless your opponents are extremely defensive over their own conduct. They resort to the lowest common denominator. “She’s Nuts! She is exposing me! Call the Medics! She wrote a book about it! Lock her up!”
If you watch documentaries on psychiatric hospitals, you see a wide range of behaviours that caused people to be admitted to psych facilities. Things like combative behaviours, uncontrolled cursing and screaming, the inability to take care of oneself, and overall disruptive behaviours. When taken to extremes, people will eat feces, drink urine, self-mutilate, etc.
There was even a twenty-five bed water intoxication ward in Riverview Hospital. The water on the ward had to be turned off, and controlled from the nursing station. The people on that ward would drink so much water, their electrolytes became imbalanced, and they became intoxicated. Even the toilets could not have any accessible water.
In a younger population, many of these psychiatric related illnesses and behaviours are related to drug usage. The combination of harsh chemicals, altered dopamine levels, and dramatic mood swings – changes a person’s neurochemistry. The situation is compounded further, by dynamics that led to the drug abuse and self medication in the first place.
In an older population, a high percentage of people remain sharp, sane, and cognitively intact up until the end of their lives. As people age, the chances of getting Alzheimer’s or dementia increases dramatically. But people with dementia are not mentally ill per se. They are afflicted with biological processes that alter their brain function, memory, and thought processes.
True mental illness in geriatrics is most often the outcome of frequent intermittent psych admissions over the course of the person’s lifetime. If a person has a history of repeated admissions, they often end up in cognitive decline, and deteriorate mentally as they age.
Many of the older patients in locked units, have a long history of admissions, and treatments with various neuroleptic drugs. When I worked a few years in LTC, I used to wonder how some of the people became so out of control. When you read their histories, you could see the breakdowns, and difficulty with coping with life’s stressors. People on long term psychiatric medications develop a myriad of movement disorders, and over time, show the many side effects of the drugs they have been taking to control their symptoms.
On the flip side of the coin, in the thirties and forties, and throughout history, there are countless victims of psychiatric abuse. This was when fascism reigned supreme, and psychiatry was used to punish people who were outspoken. Many people were committed to psych units without a lawful reason. All it took was the agreement, and signature of a doctor, and family member – to get a sane person locked up for good.
If my big brother could have done the same thing to me, he would have – long ago. Unfortunately, a percentage of ordinary, functional human beings, had their lives destroyed as a result of familial rejection and abuse. A disproportionate number of them were women. Men with mistresses who wanted to get rid of their wives. Women who wanted a divorce. Women who fought back. And especially women, who were an intellectual threat. In other words, women who might be smarter than their arrogant male dominant, more aggressive, and more powerful opponents. Their lives matter. Mine does not. At least that’s their simplistic view of their own superiority.
As far as functional people are concerned, most of us have anxiety, depression, mood changes, and periods of reduced, or increased activity. The point is – we do not spiral out of control, for reasons that are external or internal. As long as we maintain self-control – no one can claim we are mentally ill. Do our thoughts make us mentally ill? If someone does not agree with our thoughts – does that person have the right to claim we are mentally ill? If we express something another person does not want to hear, does that make us sick?
Conflicts and difference of opinions are all around us. Do we get to attack the mind and sanity of the person we are in conflict with? No – we do not. Stand firm. Do not let your mind be attacked for what you believe in.
People can be critical of behaviours that are unlawful, destructive, combative, aggressive, belligerent, etc. Those behaviours do indicate mental health disturbances, and they do get documented, either in police or health records.
But in the absence of unlawful or harmful conduct – no one has the right to attack our minds, and make a diagnosis, in order to win an argument, or to discredit our testimony. By our Constitution, Charter of Rights, and God-given rights, we are considered sane, until we prove otherwise.
Anyone who attacks another person’s mind and sanity, without presenting documented behaviours that support the accusation – is behaving in an unlawful and persecutory manner. No one gets to win a battle or conflict, simply by calling the opponent crazy. That is the stuff of movies, juvenile delinquents, misogynists, and fascists.
The dead giveaway is that when family is truly concerned about the mental health of a loved one, they offer support. They genuinely seek what it is they could offer, or do – to help the family member.
Alternatively, when an attack on the mental health is for punitive reasons – they shun and take things away. There is an absolute refusal to offer support, or to listen to the other side of the story. The big brother mentality is based on reward and punishment. You go along with the lies – you get rewarded. You don’t – you get punished. When accusations about mental health are tied to such unstable and deceptive anchors, the reasons become glaringly obvious.
My brother, and his former life – is all about secrets. Those secrets go right back to his youth, and the young Gellert girl he married. They got engaged at age sixteen, and married at eighteen. For the most part, Ron has tried to shut off all memory of his own unsavoury past, with an iron door, several feet thick. Ron and Sharon named the ritzy Vancouver “concept store” they bank rolled for their daughter, “Secret Location”. I think a few people who know Ron’s history, did a double take. The fact they would call the store Secret Location, is almost unbelievable.
Now they would have you believe that I simply won’t let go of the past. How can I with a two hundred and fifty pound teacher on my back? Seriously, I am not the one who created their delusion, and am not the one who refuses to let go. They will not let go. I have begged and pleaded with them. They repeatedly try to force the teacher relationship, give him access to me – and punish me for my obstinate refusal.
This family conflict has been ongoing, with every devious and manipulative trick in the book. Ron is the one behind all of it. Alongside the teacher, the two of them are a pair. I have been subjected to the backlash of punishment for refusing all contact with the teacher – for almost fifteen years now. The teacher has been contributing to punishment and control over my entire life. They still don’t get it, and are willing to risk reputations for an exploitive, old dog’s con.
Money is a powerful motive, and those with money wield power. It took many years for me to overcome the religious fundamentalist brainwashing I was subjected to as a teenager in small town Alberta. I really wish I would have known then, what I know now – about protecting my mind against such brazen assaults.
If the teacher would have obsessed over me secretly, without doing anything unlawful – one could not really accuse him of aberrant (and criminal) conduct. However, it is a provable fact, that he did act on his impulses, by stalking me outside of school, and using brute force to confine me. At the time, he covered his obsession by telling everyone he was going to adopt me (totally delusional).
He then escalated his behaviours and abusive conduct, by chasing me down, and forcing me into a car repeatedly – during my final semester of high school. He took me home with him for a night of brainwashing several times, over a three or four month period of time.
The teacher’s conduct is an example of someone who had deranged thoughts, and then acted on them. He was fanatically obsessed with a teenage student. He manifested his own psych disorder and unlawful, unprofessional behaviours, by actually carrying out the agenda he had schemed up with my older brother. The difference between sane and insane – is based upon conduct.
Since when does a teacher get to repeatedly tell a student that she is “his gift from God”?? He also drilled into me that my mother was wicked, and non-redeemable. He claimed she did not deserve to be my mother. She was a despicable, and an unworthy human being, without hope, according to this loon ball teacher.
In actual fact, our mother lived on a homestead with no running water, had five children in five years, and was in complete heart failure, by the time her fifth child was born. She was among the first five people in Canada, and the youngest, to have open heart surgery, at the age of twenty-three.
In most cases, the motive in stalking a teenage girl, is sexual assault. But I can assure you – an assault on the mind like he carried out, was every bit as devious and destructive as a sexual assault. In many ways, it is more destructive. To this day, my older brother (and Ledcor + the construction industry) have the entire family on side with his teacher pal.
I should be able to make the points succinctly by now. These guys need to know, they cannot simply call a person mentally ill, to cover up their own wrongdoing, and obvious psych disorders. My brother is a case. Some self examination and repentance would do him a world of good. That’s my hope for him anyway.
Most importantly, teachers do not get to attach themselves to a student for life, by making outrageous false adoption claims. This man would not take no for an answer. Ever. There is no relationship. Big brother still maintains this man is family to the core – in fact, much more so than I am. Yeah right. Like in the godfather.
People in a sane world – do not get forced into adoptions as adults. And men do not get to force themselves on women – who want nothing to do with them. Do we think most people would agree with those basic principles of human boundaries?
This whole saga has a long paper trail of documentation, and can be easily proven. My brother and Ledcor are so rich, they can afford high priced lawyers. They believe they wield so much power – they will never have to defend themselves. But – one day they will have to. Patience is a virtue.
Staying sane involves protecting ourselves, and protecting our minds, against the various onslaughts and attacks of those at enmity with us. These attacks occur when we are most vulnerable. They are not based on our best interests, but on the interests of the person doing the attacking. It is amazing how much money can buy – when it comes to ganging up on a person, to protect a high powered executive.
We need the full armour of protection. Deception, false accusations, shaming, preying upon the vulnerable – do not come from a place of love or goodness. Our biggest warning throughout the ages is “do not be deceived”. That warning is more relevant today than ever before in history.
Mother’s day is a time to be thankful for who brought us into this world. No mother is perfect. But without our mothers, we would not even be here. One of the Ten Commandments is to honour our father and mother. It is one of the more important things we will carry with us to eternity.
Years ago I read a sobering quote. It went something like this: “The present moment does not recede into the past as one may think. It is projected into the future – where it waits patiently to meet us at a later date.”
The 2021 mantra should not be “Stay Safe”. It should be “Stay Sane”. It takes dedication!
This is the sixty-four dollar question for all businesses who are already online, or planning to set up an online presence. Fortunately the traffic can be tracked using Google Analytics. Google analytics is a great tool, and at the same time, can be quite confusing. I found the most challenging part to be associated with the properties, but managed to get the G/A tracking code on all the pages.
A techie by the name of Matt Southern from the website searchenginejournal.com wrote an article about the average web traffic for small businesses. This analysis was based on researching the traffic of over 11,000 websites.
The average turned out to be 414 visits per month. A quote from the article “On the lower end of the spectrum – 13% of local businesses receive fewer than 100 visitors to their sites each month, while 55% receive fewer than 500. On the higher end, 20% of businesses receive more than 1500 monthly visitors to their site, and 15% receive over 2500 visitors.”
Interesting to note, they found that less than 5% of traffic comes through social media. I can attest to that because I do not use social media, and removed the social media buttons long ago, yet I have reached the 20% higher end with over 1600 sessions. My goal when I started the website was to reach the top 10% which is going to be a challenge, since even the 1500 benchmark is most common to companies with at least fifty employees.
Page views is another measurement of value to the web developers and business owners. The average page views is two, and slightly lower for mobile users. This means the average website gets around 1000 page views per month. More page views indicates a higher level of customer engagement or interest.
Another coveted traffic report is the percentage of organic searches. The organic search represents a users specific intent, or reason for visiting your site. It represents traffic that is earned, not paid for. My website has 80-90% organic search. For example a recent check showed 3342 visitors out of 3756 as coming from organic searches. Apparently the average organic search is around 50%
The sites with the highest organic search metrics are usually medical, educational, real estate, car dealerships and hotels. Apparently, the lowest are cleaning, marketing, and alternative therapies. The website analysis, and subsequent article was written at the end of 2019, so things may change in this regard.
The notion that a website can be built in a few minutes and get thousands of hits, is not the least bit realistic. People can create content that attracts attention, but it might be short-lived. Some people have the idea that if you put in the right key words and tags, it will automatically attract traffic. The Internet has become increasingly sophisticated and competitive. There is no quick and easy way to attract traffic without putting the effort into creating content.
Likewise, it is far too early for me to boast success, since the conversion rates, shipping zones, and several other things must be put into place. International shipping poses some challenges, as it can be very expensive.
One of the ways to reduce International shipping charges, is to send the item without a tracking number, and take a photo of it at the post office once all the airmail stickers have been applied. The photo is then emailed to the customer as proof of mailing. This works best for the lower cost items, otherwise the shipping ends up costing more than the purchased item.
For example, just recently, the cost of shipping a small parcel to Europe International Air Tracked Packet, would have been $56.00, slightly more than the cost of the item that was ordered. If it is sent Small Packet Air without a tracking number, it gets there in the same amount of time, yet the cost is $13.50.
In my opinion it is a good idea to be flexible (and prudent) when it comes to shipping. There are cases where you have to add the tracking number, and insure the item for the full cost of the sale.
In another recent transaction, it was an expensive (over $500.00) and hard to find top. The buyer had been searching for that specific designer top since it first came out on the runway at a fashion show ten years ago. She said she had been scouring the Internet for the past ten years, to find that particular top. So, with more expensive items that cannot be replaced, the tracking number and insurance is important.
Since I embarked on this web development journey without any knowledge of web development, and have been at it for a few years now, it seems like a good idea to share the experiences.
In addition, my objective is to get things to the people who want them. In my customer transactions thus far, all of them have been fantastic. The idea of collaborating with, and keeping customers happy, is an integral part of any business.
The exchange with the customers has been very positive and heart-warming. They often share their reasons for ordering the item, and have readily shown their appreciation. It is a pleasant, and intriguing surprise to find out why someone really wants a vintage frog skin bag. It expands my own horizons to sell a kimono to a woman in Ireland who owns a cycling company. I really enjoyed visiting her website. Another woman who is the offspring of one of the mid-century designers, sent me images of her own artwork. The customers have been my greatest source of encouragement.
I hope to pass on the good will, and encourage others, especially women in business. Web development, and the creation of an online business presence, opens some doors for us – that were not there in the past. It also makes for more happy surfing. And if we are going to plumb the depths of the Internet – we might as well do a swan dive!
We are becoming more cognizant of things like sustainability, reduction of waste, and caring for things of the past. In my opinion, we especially want to care for things that will never be made again. There is no modern substitute for vintage fabrics that are now obsolete. Nothing is made the same now as it was back then.
Things that are made now with lustrous fabrics, stitching, hand painting, fancy needlework, etc. are labor intensive and very expensive. In fact, you can find comparable or better textiles in the second hand market, than you can in high end stores.
Although I have yet to try this idea – it seems quite plausible and easy to figure out. A person could migrate an individual category, create a different website, and sell it as a turnkey E-Commerce site. For someone who does not have product and wants to set up a home based business, they could buy a ready made store and product.
In order to offer unique products to customers all over the world, we have to get things in front of people and find a way to attract them to the online stores. I believe a large store with multiple categories could be turned into a multi-vendor site as well.
Key challenges for E-Commerce start ups. First of all you need a product or service. The web development is really based on basic publishing skills. In the past I did a fair bit of print publishing, mostly satellite image maps. In the late eighties and nineties you had to get typesetting done, then run to another location to look at colour separations, and then back for proofs and corrections.
When it came time to print a map, you had to do the same thing at the printers. Basically be on call to do a press approval when they did the print run. If you made a mistake, it could be printed on a run of 10,000. There was always a focus on per unit cost since the price per unit dropped as the volume went up.
Now, it is much different. You can publish on the Internet for the cost of a host. If you make mistakes, you can delete or change them. The range of colours and fonts is endless. But the basic principles are the same.
I know I am obviously an amateur with regards to photography. But I do think it is very important, and I love taking pictures of beautiful things. I only use window light, so it is a constant challenge to get the detail in reds, as well as to avoid certain background hues. The biggest mistake I see in online listings, is in not paying attention to taking good product pictures.
Even without much photography experience, the item must be shown fully, and without a cluttered back drop. That goes back to the publishing experience. If you are trying to sell something, in my opinion – show that something to the best of your ability. If there is clutter, or different items shown in the photo, it detracts from the item. If someone wants to buy something, they don’t care about the lacy drapes, and dog bowl in the background.
If there is one mantra to develop when taking product photos, it is “do not be lazy”. I must have told myself that a thousand times. I think we have to view online stores in the same way we might view a shop in a fashion district. You do not see things wrinkled, hanging crooked, or partially shown – or it would look shoddy. It is even more important for online collections, because unless you want to backtrack and do thousands of retakes, you have to do your best up front to avoid that.
Central to all of this preaching, is that people in general like to look at something that is aesthetically pleasing. They also need to be able to see detail in the item, so they can verify or authenticate it for themselves.
Vintage and antique textiles, as well as art objects, jewelery, and designer pieces – are a reflection of our culture and heritage. Many beautiful things have been brought to Canada from different countries, especially during the second world war and post war years. Thousands of hours went into the textile art, drawing on the historical and artistic aptitudes of many cultures of people.
It is worthwhile to share. I realize everything is not going to sell. I am also open to offers on all items, and once the store is ready, and the marketing launched – will offer regular sales.
The B2B idea is an idea for a large store to divide and sell a category or two. The concept of creating a multi-vendor site could create a sort of Avenue Montaigne, or Bond Street, Rodeo Drive – type of Internet fashion district.
The creation of an upscale second hand fashion district on the west coast, is quite appealing. We have so many remnants to treasure. It comes from those who have migrated here, and brought beautifully crafted items unique to the era. The online antique and vintage textiles are showcasing some of the artistic beauty in the various ethnic groups. It also serves to highlight a wide range of mid-century fashion houses in Europe and North America.
This idea would go a long way in helping niche market entrepreneurs attract traffic. It would also help the customers find one of a kind things they are interested in. It creates a resource for fashion designers and historians as well. I have had several Universities and experts request the use of images for talks, youtube presentations and other publications. Also – the labels on items are very important. Those labels authenticate, and add to a broader Internet resource for the textile and fashion industry as well. Therefore, it is important to get those photographed as well as any other identifying marks, serial numbers, etc.
Finally, we are returning to a longer lasting, less waste mentality. And with that, we slow down. There are so many things already in existence, out there for the plucking. Some of those things are just practical everyday textiles like t-shirts and jeans, plus a 99% plethora of fast fashion made in China.
But there is a percentage of things that turn up in the second hand market that are absolutely gorgeous. In my opinion, they deserve to be assigned a higher value.
Mannequins were originally designed to show product in brick and mortar stores. Until now they have been used for display, not for photographing products for an online store. There are some key differences in the way the mannequin is used, and it would be really nice if someone could come up with a decent mannequin for photographing clothing.
What is wrong with most mannequins, other than being made out of cheap plastic? I have gone through a few so can give an opinion on the subject. I have also watched people in retail stores fuss and fumble with mannequins. The arms have to be at a certain angle to lift off. On one of my first mannequins, one of the arms was much more difficult to get off than the other arm. I ended up struggling with it, then when it suddenly came loose, dropped the arm on the hardwood floor and broke it.
The most challenging thing is that the mannequins are not symmetrical. You do not want one that has bent legs, posed arms, etc. because it does not suit all products. A mannequin designed to sell sportswear will not work well with gowns.
You would think something made of die cast plastic would be even, but the most recent mannequin I bought is anything but. One shoulder is higher than the other, making it difficult to get a decent picture of the back of the garment. This particular mannequin has her arms out too far from her body, and looks kind of gorilla like, which is not exactly ideal.
A few years ago I read about ghost mannequins. They are very expensive and have many parts. I have noticed they do not seem to be in high demand, perhaps due to the price, or maybe they have too many parts and are a pain, I don’t know for sure how they work. I would love to see one and try it out before buying it online since they are so awkward and large to ship.
For the most part a white mannequin with straight arms, straight legs, and even shoulders – would be a great help. The body should not be action posed in any way.
E-Commerce product photography could use a mannequin that is on a moveable, rotatable base, with shoulders that are not so big. Basically those are the specs. It does not have to be a $1200 mannequin, because you can learn to ghost the mannequin on a white background anyway.
The other difference between store display mannequins and the workhorse mannequin you need for an online store, is in the number of times she is being dressed and undressed. Often store display mannequins are dressed and left on display for weeks on end, whereas the product photography for an online store requires frequent dressing and undressing.
The main thing about mannequins is they are big and awkward to ship, and easy to break. In my opinion, they should also be designed so you can replace an arm if you break one. In other words – sell body parts! From a fossil fuel perspective, it is very wasteful to throw mannequins away, especially if you just need to replace one arm. They should be made to be fixable, with replaceable parts. I think for the most part, it is the arms, or the stand that breaks or fails, and then the mannequin gets discarded. If those parts could be replaced, it would prevent so many mannequins ending up in the landfills.
My preference would be to find one ideal mannequin and keep it forever. But I am now on the third one. Alas, when she arrived and I started dressing and working with her – I wanted to give her a Uber ticket back to where she came from!
For anyone who knows how to make mannequins – the online store/E-Commerce market might make it a worthwhile endeavour with opportunities for growth. It would be a good idea to explore different options other than plastic. Perhaps something that can be recycled, or else use more natural components.
The reality is, as a direct result of all the covid changes on the world stage – there has been a downward trend in apparel sales. There is not much reason for people to get dressed up these days. With a high percentage of people working from home, and no parties to attend – what is there to dress up for? In the winter time, when it is colder, we go out to get supplies without ever taking our coat off.
For now, the haute couture and glamour is on hold. But one thing to note is that historically, anytime there was a period of instability, there was also an escape into the splendour of romanticism, culture, and glamour. This phenomena is what gave rise to the film stars of the thirties and forties. Soon they were being copied, flaunting a sleek style and elegance that has added to the mystique and danger of the times.
The appeal surrounding the resale of quality vintage clothing and luxury brand items has become increasingly trendy and sought after. Macy’s and Nordstrom’s added secondhand sections in their retail outlets. From a recent CNN article “Consumers are shopping with their values,” Standish said. “They care about climate change and the impact of apparel on the environment and that’s why they’re more attracted to pre-owned and pre-loved clothing.”
The article also points out the following overview:
“Some of the trends that industry experts say fueled the secondhand market boom won’t change due to the pandemic.
Secondhand clothing stores have been around for decades, but there is a growing number of consumers and a radically diminished stigma attached to the secondhand market. Pre-loved or vintage fashion is now considered not only hip and cool, but environmentally responsible as well, says Jill Standish, senior managing director at professional services firm Accenture, and head of its global retail practice.
Millennials, she says, “want to own high-end brands, and the ability to get them for a fraction of the price in the secondhand market is especially appealing to them,” and a greater move to digital sales during Covid-19 can help the resale sector, which has a strong online presence.”
In addition to the above, there is reason for optimism for an online store as opposed to trying to maintain a brick and mortar store facing repeated lockdowns.
The most important foundational criteria for the product I have chosen for my store, is to avoid things made in China, or anything mass produced. In recent years, we have seen so much fast fashion and mass produced clothing from China filling up the landfills, it does make sense to go back to better quality, less waste, and a classier image projection. However, items made in Hong Kong in the sixties are truly astounding. They made gorgeous hand beaded evening purses, tops, and dresses. But as manufacturing and volume increased, combined with a desire to keep the prices down – we all bought into fast fashion. It does have its place, in practical, everyday wear, especially for kids. But we got way too much of it.
One of the reasons we ended up with too much is because the fashion trends changed more rapidly than they did prior to the 1980’s. The reason for the rapid changing trends, was to increase sales and materialism. It used to be the essence of a certain style or look would last around thirty-five years. Then before we knew it, the fashion trends changed dramatically every six or seven years. It makes more sense to blend the style options into a wide array, so a person can wear what they want. It also makes much more sense to look closer to home for manufacturing and design in the world of high fashion.
One of my motives is to promote Canadian designers. Especially those designers who have reached an exceptional and long-lasting level of success in the ever-changing dynamic world of fashion. Canada has a truly distinguished fashion history brought to us by the flair for fashion in Montreal. Of course there are cottage designers in every nook and cranny of our huge and great country. But Montreal definitely has the edge, with so much inborn natural talent it seems.
We might see more dress up extravaganzas filmed for private gatherings as well. Perhaps people won’t dress up to go somewhere literal – but rather they might dress up to put on a performance or get creative on film. This is already happening on apps like Tik Tok and Zoom. People might buy outfits for photo-shoots and mini-plays to enhance the creativity of their content. This is quite plausible to me because I know how much some people love fashion, and will find opportunities to express themselves.
If the small niche market online retailer of second hand luxury items can weather the covid storm, it does maintain a real person exchange. This means there is flexibility and a personal interest in customer satisfaction.
Offers are accepted on any item in the Quiet West collection. Every item is unique and has been cared for over the long term. The textiles and attention to detail in a high percentage of vintage is no longer available in contemporary apparel.
In addition, the items in a private collection are not being handled or tried on by anyone else. As a micro-enterprise the quality control and attention to detail is much easier to adhere to.
I have sold many beautiful items to International customers. The customers have been fantastic and without complaints. So, even as a recent start up with not exactly impeccable timing, I still feel optimism for the New Year and the future.
I know we are all facing a great deal of change. But now is the time to have faith. I think it makes sense to make a plan – then let each day bring the best we can glean from it. There is no point in worrying about tomorrow – if we do the best we can for today.
Nothing can take love out of this world, including the love for beautifully made apparel and decor. I think if we can remember that – we can weather (and wear) just about anything.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
We learn a fair bit from other people’s mistakes, at least if we are smart we do. We might even learn more from our own mistakes, because they are so much more internalized. When we publish something, we externalize our mistakes – so there is no point in denying them.
The focus of this post is to acknowledge the mistakes I have made throughout the development of an online store. Since it is a work in progress, there are still many improvements to be made. My hope is to help others who embark on this entrepreneurial journey, since I have been at it for several years now.
When I first got started, things were quite different. The concept of shopping cart plug-ins was still being developed. There was no option to use WooCommerce or Shopify. In addition, you had to worry about being PAC compliant surrounding the storage and protection of the customer’s credit card data.
Initially I chose software that was developed in Russia called CS Cart. To their credit, it was the most sophisticated software available at the time. But the technical support was slow and spotty. In addition, I did not realize that product photos have to be square. I took thousands of photos that were not properly cropped or squared, so in a sense it was a good thing the software and the store I had worked on developing at that time, did not work out.
I certainly do not have all the answers, but setting up the product photos in a square, with a solid coloured background – is a high priority. Over the years, I have fussed around with the back drapes as much as the product itself. Try steaming the wrinkles out of something larger than a king size sheet, and you will know what I mean. The drapes also have to be long enough to cover the floor beneath a long dress or robe.
Since all photos have been shot in window light, there are many things to consider. Next to the perfect square and backdrop, you need to be able to get far enough back to get the entire length of the gown, which is tricky of you don’t have a large studio space. There are macro lenses, wide angle lenses, and zoom lenses – yet none of those will work to take a picture of a maxi dress. The best lens for amateur product photography in my opinion, is the 50mm Nikon portrait lens. It works better than a mid range zoom.
You can buy a collapsible stand for the back drapes. I never used the drapes that came with it since they were too small and made of heavy wrinkled cotton. Eventually, I found the best background drapes in thrift stores in Vancouver. A large white one came from a trade show, and a large black one that had been used in a dark room.
When you look at product photography – most of the professional work is done on a white background. They will even photograph white products on a white background. It might be the safest way to go, but in my opinion, it is best to show the product with as much detail and contrast as possible.
When I look through the media library at some of the product photos – I cringe. The most difficult colours are the reds. Since red has the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum – you can literally see the flattening and distortion of detail through the cameral lens. Certain colours and light conditions create a dark or uneven cast in the background, and if you change the exposure, they lose all detail. Other than lightening the exposure and increasing the definition, I do not touch up the product itself. I have spent a fair bit of time taking any noise or wrinkles out of the background.
The reason the photography is so important is because people like to look at clear bright pictures. I use both black and white for the background, since I am more concerned about product visibility than I am about making it the same as what everyone else does. Ideally I would like to be able to create a Gallery for every item. For those who have to hire professional photographers to list products, it would be a very expensive start-up. The photography and background editing, can be quite time consuming.
When you first embark on the creation of an online store, give careful thought to the categories you set up. The categories are key to the organizational component of your store, especially if you are doing niche marketing.
In Internet lingo, they refer to products as being at the head of the tail, or long tail. The head contains the volume sales or mass consumer market items. These are things more likely to sell in higher volume, such as socks and T-shirts. One T-shirt will have many different variables, perhaps five different colours, two styles, and four sizes.
Whereas in the long tail niche market, the product is usually one of a kind, or manufactured in a very small volume. To my way of thinking, there is an inverse proportionality to consider. If the head of the tail has large volume sales for a single item, the tail must have a large volume of single items. Otherwise, it is too difficult for customers to find you, if you only have twenty one of a kind items – no matter how beautiful they are. When it comes to long tail, I tend to think – the longer your tail the better. It might be the only way to become known and to establish an Internet footprint. I guess it would be more accurate to call it a tail print.
Things to avoid? Because of the fact fast fashion is filling up the landfills, and lacks quality and attention to detail, I have always avoided the mass produced items with made in China labels. Ivory, fur and leather are also things to avoid, or at least consider very carefully because there are bans on these items in certain countries. Ivory has a global ban that was enacted a few years ago. Since then the challenges to those bans have been won in some locations, for older ivory. Even so, ivory and fur are not good investments.
Perfume can also be problematic, due to the risk of flammability. Canada Post does not differentiate between perfume, which is flammable, and eau de toilette, which is mostly water, and is not flammable. You have to ship all perfume ground – with all kinds of special labelling and wrapping. It means if you send a bottle of Yves Saint Laurent Printemps eau de toilette to France in January – it will quite literally take until spring to get there!
The advancements in software in recent years is a huge advantage for new online stores. Just a few short years ago, it was daunting to try and figure out the stringent requirements to keep the client’s credit cards or bank informations safe. It was a huge responsibility to consider for a small start up. Fortunately things have changed.
When maintaining the credit card safety reverted back to the payment gateways, initially it was structured so the customer would add the item to the cart, and when proceeding to check-out, it took them to the Visa card or Paypal page. This was an improvement, but the continuity was interrupted as far as the online store branding was concerned. Within a couple more years, they were able to set it up so the transfer is not visible to the customer, making for a more streamlined transaction.
When you first set up a store, you choose what is called a skin, or template. I made the mistake of choosing one that is more complicated than I need. In fact, the convoluted publishing sections for a home page are no longer a requirement. Websites are no longer based on the layout of the home page, but rather on the menus. If you choose a complicated skin like I did, it makes it harder to choose fonts, font colours and what not, because initially you cannot even tell what you are doing or changing. You have to keep going to the published version to see if you got the fonts and lettering looking half decent. Keep in mind that not only the fonts, background colours, size of lettering, etc. has hundreds of variables and combinations, but there are also colours and styles on what hovers, what sticks, and what scrolls.
One of the bigger challenges is International shipping. I do not have all the shipping zones set up yet. In addition, you can set up all the customs forms and taxes online. Canada Post has a find a rate section on their website to enable shipping calculations.
I have not had any returns thankfully, but have had to refund a couple of times when the shipping or the product was prohibitive. The refunds are quick and easy. It is also easy to allow partial payments.
The structure and set up of an online store is both creative and task oriented. The categories are the foundation of the organizational component of your store. Whenever I get an order or an enquiry, I time myself on how long it takes to locate the item. Usually it is less than five minutes, so I do feel a sense of accomplishment in that regard. Everything is in containers, numbered and labeled on shelves, in their specific categories. So if the item is A562, you go to that shelf and look for the container with that number.
Each order has a set of tasks to complete that goes something like this:
Check to see that the money is in your merchant account.
Communicate with the customer to thank them and let them know you received payment.
Get out the item and go over it carefully. Dresses and other garments get taken to the cleaners.
Find a box the right size. Since the size of the items, and cost of shipping depends on the box size, I buy a few different sizes from the Dollar Store and the Post Office to keep on hand.
I use large sheets of acid free white tissue paper and minimize the packaging.
Print a shipping label and the customer’s paper copy of the invoice.
Look up the shipping cost and fill in the customs forms, even if you do it by hand. With all the long line-ups these days, if you fill in those forms ahead of time, it cuts down on the length of time to mail it.
Make sure the item is wrapped and labeled with care. Apparently most items are lost due to an improperly attached label.
In most cases, it is wise to get a tracking number. But if the item is not expensive and the customer is agreeable, I have sent things without a tracking number. It is so much cheaper, and it will get there. In that case, I will take a photo of the item at the Post Office after all the shipping labels are applied – as proof of shipping and email it to the customer instead of the tracking number.
Once the item is shipped, the customer is sent the tracking number. You also have to remember to take the item out of stock on the back end of the store.
On the bright side, I do love vintage clothing and textiles. The most photogenic items are the ones with the most detailed patterns. Bright and colourful silk scarves, and hand painted antique porcelain are the most vibrant. As a secondary benefit, the photography helps train your eye. I used to have to go through a hundred or more scarves one by one, to find the designer scarf. Now I can spot a Gucci scarf from three hundred yards away. You will be amazed at what you learn to recognize, as a byproduct of taking ten thousand pictures!
P.S. Always use a tripod 🙂
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
At first I thought, what the heck is vegan leather? In the past it was more commonly known as pleather, or imitation leather, so it is nothing new. The problem with pleather is that it is made out of plastic, or oil based fossil fuels. In addition, it is not biodegradable. There is nothing vegan or natural about it. Who eats plastic? How about a vegan pleather lasagna? Hmmm.
As far as wearing pleather, since it is plastic, it does not breathe, and will stick to you in the heat. It will also crack in the cold. Growing up in freezing cold winters, I recall a comical incident as a kid with an older cousin, who was wearing a pleather skirt. We were waiting in sub-zero temperature for the school bus for at least twenty minutes. When she got on the bus and sat down, her stiff and frozen plastic skirt cracked right in half!
Wrapping ourselves in plastic does not help regulate core temperature. Imitation leather quickly ends up in the landfills, and takes forever to break down. It does not breathe well as outerwear, and does not make for long-lasting, comfortable shoes and boots. Go to any thrift store and you will see a wall of pleather purses purchased on impulse, and discarded just as quickly. Why? Because no matter how you dress it up or try to rename it – pleather is just as tacky today as it was in the seventies.
In addition to being non biodegradable in landfills, it does not make its way into many vintage collections, because it does not age well. It often gets small cracks in the surface over time, followed by a peeling and flaking of the tiny plastic paint-like particles.
Although I have never been a big fan of fur, I do think it is ethical to use the hide of an animal that was going to die anyway. It is a practical way to increase its value, if it is used as a food by-product. When animals are raised specifically for their hides, it becomes ethically a little more grey.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway for us to consider when trying to create a more environmentally sensitive world, is in the need for the reduction of waste.
For a long time, vintage fur was considered ethical to buy and wear. In many ways I agree, since the item is already in existence. Should we really destroy and waste beautiful things that have stood the test of time? I think it is important to preserve them, so those animals did not die in vain. In reality, there are ethical grey zones in all manufactured products. This includes how they were made, how the workers are treated, how the animals are treated, what chemicals are used, what kind of extraction is involved, what kind of environmental impact is involved, life cycle of a product, what conflicts surround the product, etc. etc
Even if everyone stops wearing fur and leather, it does not change the fact that we have been wearing fur and leather since the beginning of time. We cannot eradicate our history and heritage when it comes to what we wore. After all, the outfit is the presentation for so many entrances, photographs and iconic looks from the different eras.
But at the same time – who would go to a public event wearing a full length mink coat these days? At one time, making an entrance with a glamorous full length mink coat – was considered the envy of the masses. Now it is seen as gaudy, garish, and insensitive. But they still need them for Hollywood movies because there is nothing that can truly emulate the real thing.
If no one is going to buy the beautiful vintage fur and leather anymore, I do think fur coats in good condition should be sent to poor northern communities, where the winters are very cold. There is nothing warmer than real fur.
As far as substituting other materials, I think it is better to go the more natural route. I read that certain designers are experimenting with everything from corn husks to pineapple leaves, looking for ways to bond the materials into a natural material for shoes. Ideas like this are more aptly called vegan leather, since the materials are predominantly vegan. Maybe one day we will be wearing shoes from coconut shells!
In summary, as far as pleather is concerned – I have secretly mocked it ever since I witnessed my cousins pleather skirt crack in half many years ago. I bet her gold plastique skirt is still sitting in a landfill somewhere. Pleather does not age well. Leather will last a very long time, if it is taken care of. I would far rather wear a vintage leather coat from the seventies than a pleather one. From a practical perspective, fur and leather will keep you warm and dry, just as it kept the animal warm and dry for its lifetime.
When it comes to emotions and the love of animals, I know for certain that many farmers love their cows. It may sound corny, but it is true. Like humans, animals do not live forever. They have a certain role to play. I believe they should dwell in peaceful pastures, and be treated with kindness, regardless of what they are used for.
In my opinion, from practical, ethical, waste reduction perspectives, pleather is out. It is especially wasteful if used in large garments such as coats. At least with purses and shoes, it is far less plastic, than what is used in a coat.
I would venture to say that leather used as a byproduct of the meat industry, is totally fine, unless of course you don’t eat meat, and don’t want to wear leather. In addition, the tanning and dying of the leather should be done with vegetable dyes and non-toxic natural products, as opposed to the use of chromium.
Canada churns out lots of leather products, mostly using cowhide. Cowhide is a durable leather with a strong natural grain. Cowhide is good in wind, rain and even snowy conditions. If we have to abandon the use of so much leather, I think leather boots should be the last to go. Leather footwear conforms to your feet, and can’t be beat.
I also think it should be okay to preserve and take care of leather garments, and then resell them in the vintage marketplace, so they do not go to waste. I do not think pleather should be a substitute for leather for many reasons – or for any reason. It is important to have these conversations in this day and age of environmental awareness, so designers get off the vegan leather trend wagon.
I believe in natural fibres, and have always gravitated toward things made of silk, wool, cotton, linen, and flax. The natural fabrics will stay alive for a hundred years or more – and if they do end up discarded, they turn back into soil. Most importantly, they retain the intrinsic elements of their natural beauty. Imitation leather does not retain much of anything. Renaming it vegan leather, is little more than a trendy misnomer.
Textile research and development should focus on the pineapple leaves, hemp, corn husks, and other durable options for the creation of green earth clothing. At least natural textiles will go back to the earth from where they came, without polluting the ecosystem for a hundred years or more, like plastic does.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2021). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
This is a sampling of some of the Quiet West sold items. Check back as I will be adding more. The first item in this post was one of the very first sales. A woman in her nineties, and in palliative care – wanted to wear this beautiful 1930’s pink quilted satin bed jacket. The customers have been a pleasure to deal with, and have wonderful taste, with a unique story surrounding each piece. Their beauty lives on!
Sold to a Customer in USA1960’s Satin Robe Sold USAAlexander McQueen Silk Fox Scarf Sold – LondonPatricia Fieldwalker Silk Gown – Sold USAEmbroidered Japanese 1970’s Silk Kimono – Sold IrelandAntique Hand Made Openwork Wedding Hat Sold AustraliaAndre 1950’s Brocade Turban – To AustraliaI. Magnin & Co. 1940’s Maxi Dress – Sold CaliforniaSold To CaliforniaSold To Los AngelesSold To USARodier Cardigan – Sold USAIsabel de Pedro Jacket – Sold EuropeLeo-Danal Embroidered 1950’s Dress – Canada Sold To MontrealLeo-Danal 1940’s Coat Dress – Sold To MontrealJoop Sunglasses – Sold to USASold To AustraliaSold To AustraliaSold To AustraliaSold To AustraliaSold To AustraliaSold To Australia1950’s Clear Transparent Lucite Box Purse – Sold USASold To SwitzerlandMoschino Cheap and Chic – Sold To USASold To SingaporeSold To USASold To MontrealSold USASold – Eastern Canada
As a person who spends a fair bit of time on the Internet, like most people, I have noticed many changes. One thing we have to accept is that nothing is private. If you look at used Toyotas, the next thing you know, there will be Toyota ads popping up in your email, Facebook, and every other unrelated site you visit.
Even the power thesaurus site will post ads related to your recent browsing history. I was thinking – Gee, we better be careful when we shop for a bra online. Next thing you know your bra size might be posted with the thesaurus. Or on Facebook. Or in the comment section on CBC. They must have a computer model or algorithmic entry to avoid posting certain aspects of browsing history.
Just the other day I was doing some research on luxury brand consignment stores, and within a couple of days received at least ten direct email advertisements from them.
If things get a little crazy – the best thing to do is clear the cache, which can be done on the web browser at an advanced level. You just have to re-sign into all your standard accounts after clearing the cache, but it does solve some of the ad history as well. Web developers also have to clear the cache periodically on the admin panel, or back end of the store.
The advertising is understandable, since the Internet is a highly competitive marketplace. But what is of most concern is that web developers are putting pop-up ads everywhere now. They are at the top of the page, and on the sides in little boxes. They creep up from the bottom of the page, covering the text you are trying to read. If one ad doesn’t grab your attention, it is quickly replaced by another one, and seems to seep through the cracks to find a space on the already cluttered page.
Some websites have little chat corners with a real person trying to get your attention. If you close that, the person’s face goes away, leaving a small bar. Within a matter of seconds, the small bar starts jumping up and down. It is very annoying, to the extent I will not even stay on a website if it is invasive or intrusive.
What many web developers do not realize, is how many people they are losing by placing so many interruptions. Surely we all remember how quickly we would leave a clothing store, if there was an overly aggressive sales person following us around, who would not allow you to browse and shop at your own pace.
Another annoying thing, is when an online shop does not list prices. I can see why certain things may be open to offers, or have some exception to the rule, but overall it is human nature to price shop. Why not let people look? You cannot get inside their head anyway.
This could just be my own opinion, and may not be that widespread, but the most annoying things are pop-up ads that move. It’s quite distracting to start reading or looking at something, and then suddenly half the page is covered with a pop-up ad asking for login information, or a registration of name and email. As if that’s not enough, some of those pop-ups wobble and move, akin to waving a flag or flyer in your face.
Hopefully, I can cover all the pet peeves in one rant!
Another web developer blooper, is when they put the social media buttons covering part of the text in the article. Some developers wisely put the buttons off to the side. Others have a small x or arrow that allows you to move it out of the way.
In reading multiple news sources, left wing, right wing, and in between, biases can be quite obvious. But nevertheless, it is worthwhile to read the gambit just to get a bigger picture. One example is Rebel Media. They have published a few articles I might be inclined to read – but they have large social media buttons covering a portion of the text – so I give up.
For me, the worst placement of social media buttons, is when the left portion of the text is covered, because we read from left to right. When skimming articles, the left portion of the text probably instills the most comprehension – yet they obscure that text.
Even as journalists, they don’t seem to understand why it is beneficial to allow people to read an article, without covering up a percentage of the words. Do they think placing the social media buttons where you cannot ignore them, will make more people use the social media buttons? I’m not sure, but I bet it is not the least bit effective.
The Internet has evolved into one huge, busy page, with individually targeted ads everywhere. This is the main reason people believe the sale of paper books may make a big comeback. People do not want constant distractions when they are reading or looking at something. Maybe, we do not like to have our train of thought interrupted. Perhaps we do not like to have someone else dictate our intellectual priorities.
From a web developers perspective, I realize I have a long way to go. I do have social media buttons, but removed them long ago. I think the most important thing is to have quality content. The old saying “content is king” was replaced by an expanded adage “content is the kingdom”. That makes total sense to me. You can use all the gizmos and ads available, and without good content – it is merely Internet junk mail. We all know what happens to junk mail.
Most people who embark on developing a website might not know that all those plug-ins and widgets enabling you to put pop-up ads, wobbling, jumping, waving, tracking, etc. adds more code to your website. Some of the code is fairly clean. Some of it is not, and can cause glitches or slow your site to a crawl. On top of it all, the plug-ins can interact with each other, and make things so convoluted, you don’t know how to fix them.
In my opinion, plug-ins should be used sparingly. The analogy for me, is in comparing plug-ins to prescription drugs. There might be short term relief, or solutions – but they won’t be without side effects. Some web developers seem to think the more plug-ins you use, the more sophisticated the site. But in reality, it does the opposite.
I do hope the Internet trends back to a reduction of ads, or at least fewer well placed ads. I don’t think there is any point in being naive enough to believe there is anonymity on the website.
So far, even our online medical data is not secure. We know, because of numerous data breaches over the years. For some reason they have not managed to create a secure encryption for lab results and individual health records. One of the biggest concerns aside from privacy, is the chance of errors, which could cause colossal damages if treatment or drug dosages are based on erroneous diagnostics or patient identity.
Our banking data is well encrypted and seems to be the most secure, but even so, people have to use caution. PayPal has a very good reputation and when they or their merchant accounts are subject to phishing attacks, they have an email reporting system called spoof@paypal. If someone spoofs you, you can tell by the long string of characters, and the fact they do not address you by name, since Paypal always addresses you by name.
It has taken a few years, but I am much more aware of cyber attacks, phishing attempts, and things that don’t ring true.
Trust is central to any transaction, and even more so on the Internet, since the customer has to believe you will deliver. Thankfully, I have never had a Paypal complaint. One key benefit of doing all components of the transaction online, is that it is all documented, from the initial payment, all the way to the shipping and tracking number. Refunds are quick and easy. The customer is refunded immediately, if the funds have not already been transferred to the bank.
If the refund is issued later, after being transferred to the bank, it takes about three days to get the funds back to the customer. I had to refund a couple of payments, where the shipping costs were prohibitive, such as sending maps in a mailing tube to Australia.
In another case, the order was for antique ivory earrings. I issued a refund on those, because the order was from a State with specific laws related to the ivory ban. There are restrictions to be aware of relating to fur and ivory. It used to be okay to sell vintage fur and pre-ban ivory, but not anymore. The prohibited list does contain certain obscure furs that may not be properly identified, like those from some of the spotted cats.
Whether it is the best idea or not, I have chosen not to put moving images, pop-up ads, social media buttons, or track what people look at. The content and product can speak for itself.
My assumption is that the customer can think for themselves, and look at whatever they want, to their heart’s content. Soon, I will have to develop a marketing plan, to include social media. But for now – I’ll follow my own advice and remain low key.
I will work hard to make things independently interesting though. And hope for the best!
Online sales of second hand goods is experiencing steady growth, which stands to reason since many brick and mortar stores of all kinds are now going online. The sales pitch for those who want to clean out their closets, and turn expensive designer purchases into cash – is an attractive concept.
Consignment sales have many legal and accounting parameters the average person may not be aware of. As a collector myself, I have always stayed away from consignment sales. I found the items were not old enough to be vintage, and often just old enough to be outdated.
However, if an item is authentic and made by a luxury brand designer (not a licensed label made in China and passed off as authentic) – then the chances are pretty good it will retain value, or may even increase in value over time.
But if you have a closet full of stuff to sell, the selling options are limited, therefore consignment might be the option you choose to go with. The consignment contracts are lengthy, and may not reflect the best interests of the sellers. The other thing to consider is the shipping.
Logistically, how are you going to ship a blouse to Toronto, then have them authenticate it, photograph it, list it on their website, go through all the parameters of the agreement with you, and then put a retail price of $50.00? If it does not sell, eight months or a year later, are they going to ship it back to you? That means the shipping cost alone will be as much as the listed retail price, without selling anything.
In addition, the accounting for large consignment stores is an absolute nightmare. The consignment agreement typically specifies a time period to keep the items listed. If they do not sell, they claim they will return them to you. There are various commission rates, based on price or other factors. The consignee or seller does not pay for or purchase the items, yet they take possession of the items, examine, authenticate, photograph and list them. Surely there is significant cost associated with doing so. Managing inventory like that has to be labour intensive and easy to lose track of.
When you factor in the complexity of accounting, the care of inventory, storage, photography, and listing – as well as dealing with customers, potential returns, and the consignor, it could easily be a recipe for disaster.
If you are considering selling on consignment, the main objective is getting paid of course. You are being offered a platform, visibility, and a vehicle for the sale of items. Nothing will sell unless it is put in front of people so they can see it, evaluate it, and decide if the price is right, or how badly they want it, regardless of the price. Therefore, on the surface, it seems like an understandable and rational choice to make, if you have a range of expensive designer items, and want to cash in on those purchases at a later date.
The first mistake many of us make is in thinking the original retail price is a reflection of what the item is actually worth. What you paid, and what it is worth, may be two very different numbers. Some things increase in value over time. Other things – not so much.
In my opinion, the biggest problem with consignment is embodied in the old adage that possession is nine tenths of the law. Does anyone really believe a flailing consignment store, in the quagmire of filing for bankruptcy – will individually package and return all items to the original owners?
This is a topic for lawyers, but common sense would tell us the original owners could easily lose what they have consigned, if the seller goes bankrupt. After all, the consignment store will have other debts to pay. In essence, they end up having possession of a huge inventory they do not own. People tend to take greater care of a business and/or inventory if they actually own it.
The buyer of consignment goods has less to worry about than the consignor, because once the item is sold, there is a legal transfer of ownership. If the item is shipped promptly, it should be fine. But due to the accounting, inventory complexities, and difficulties for large consignment stores to manage it all, means it is guesswork, as far as estimating how long they will stay in business.
If you go to the large Canadian consignment online stores, and are considering selling your goods, you are looking for a platform that does not have one-sided legalese in their contract. Plus, you want to know if they can set up and manage a long term evolving website, since that is their method of reaching the public.
If you walked into a brick and mortar consignment store and saw a disorganized mess, you would turn around and walk out. Yet, there is no way of telling how organized or capable an online store might be. Is there?
One way to tell how organized and user friendly an online store has been set up – go to the website performance site called GT Metrix. All you have to do is type in the specific web address of any website, and it will give you a detailed performance rating.
If a website is fairly new, but carries a large amount of inventory, and scores very low on the GT Metrix analysis – what is going to happen to them as things evolve and get more complex? They are likely to become exponentially convoluted as time goes on. Quite frankly, I don’t think increasing entropy creates a sustainable website model.
On the weekend I compared some large Canadian online consignment store websites. One of them has a current performance score of 27% translating to an F. The other has a score of 35% and also gets an F. It does not bode well for the longevity prospects of those websites. At the time of this writing, the quietwest.com website is over 6000 pages, and has a GTMetrix score of 98% or an A.
When you shop on a site where all inventory is owned outright by the store owner, there is much more flexibility. Prices and shipping can be adjusted. Offers can easily be made and accepted without any legal issues. Any dissatisfaction on the part of the customer can be remedied according to what the customer thinks is fair, and so on.
When dealing with a collector who has invested time and money into their products, without stringent timelines or convoluted accounting requirements, you are dealing with a seller who has flexibility as an integral part of the transaction.
Furthermore, an online store that owns all the inventory – will not go bankrupt. A well designed website requires a great deal of time and effort. When it comes to online sales, the website is a foundational cornerstone for the stability, longevity and resale of quality products.
Most of us who embark on business ventures must persevere through a number of challenges. Those challenges are compounded for women, due to a lack of financing and resources. You have to learn to do most things on your own. Research is the best and cheapest resource.
One major advantage of building and promoting individual web shops, is to expand the niche market. We are saturated with mass produced fast fashion items. It is a breath of fresh air to see some old fashioned quality and attention to detail. The online marketplace can be like an Avenue Montaigne, or Fifth Avenue, if there is enough to attract people.
Online boutiques provide endless browsing, nostalgia, obsolete designers, textiles, and one of a kind items. A collection carries the stamp of the owner in whatever it is we choose to put into our store.
I realize 1980’s ladies suits with big shoulder pads are not likely to sell. At the same time, the exhibit of what we actually did wear then, is so much a part of the arts, culture and fashion of a particular era. The individual design elements of each time frame carry a certain intrigue and attitude. At the time, those big-shouldered jackets seemed to be quite fashionable. Whether we liked them or not, such extremes have to be part of the whole.
Images of vintage and luxury brand fashion creates a resource for those in the film industry, who may have a project set in a certain time frame. One thing about vintage – there is nothing quite like the real thing.
The good news for Quiet West, other than getting an A+ on the GT Metrix performance score, is that I managed to trouble shoot a non-functioning favourite camera lens. It has had an ERR message for at least two years, so I had to switch to a mid-range Sigma lens and set the Nikon fixed portrait lens aside.
In googling possible causes for the error message, I learned the lens is not communicating with the camera. If you switch to a different lens and the other one works, you know it is a problem with the lens, not the camera. Then I read the most likely cause, is a need to clean the camera mounts. Since I have used the lens a lot, it made sense. I carefully followed the directions to clean the camera mounts, but still got the error message.
Anyway, it went back in the camera bag. The Nikon online repair site has a huge long list of things to fill out. So I finally decided to take it to London Drugs. They have a really good camera support and repair section at the London Drugs on West Broadway in Vancouver. I think all London Drug camera departments will send the lens out for repair on the customer’s behalf.
The online repair estimate was high, because of shipping, technical expertise required, assessment, etc. The Nikon 50mm lens is not a very expensive lens compared to most, so it did not seem worth it to spend 90% of the replacement cost to fix it.
One of the amazing things about DSLR cameras is that a $300.00 lens might be as good, or better than a $1600.00 lens. Overall, I do admit to being a Nikon fan, and use a Nikon camera. I would highly recommend the Nikon 50mm fixed portrait lens at the cheaper cost. Not only is it cheaper, it is much smaller, and seems to have more creative flexibility. It is also better than most other lenses in low light. I am no pro, but those are observations based on trial and error in taking product photos.
Just yesterday, I decided to google the error code on that particular lens one more time. Lo and behold, there was more info now than the last time I checked. There was more to it than just cleaning the camera mounts. Within one minute the answer was right in front of me, and I immediately knew it was the solution to my lens problem. So pathetically simple too.
Apparently, on that particular lens, you cannot have the outside aperture ring set at a certain number. Sure enough, it was dialled onto that particular number from experimenting with bokeh imagery.
After doing without that nifty little lens for two whole years, I plucked it out of the case, turned the aperture dial to a different number, and that was it. Job done. Lucky too. I love that lens. It works like a charm!
Hand woven and hand loomed silk, wool, and cotton from India with metallic threads and incredible artistry, demonstrates some of the most beautiful textiles in the world. The following excerpt from the Indian Textile History gives us an idea how rich and interwoven the history of textiles has been throughout India and the rest of the world:
“There is archaeological evidence of a cotton textile industry at Mohenjo-Daro in the IndusValley around 3000 B.C., and a few fragments survive from much later periods. Most of the extant textiles are dated after the seventeenth century, because the monsoon climate has been very destructive to early specimens. The Greeks with Alexander the Great wrote of the fine flowered muslins and robes embroidered in gold they had seen in India. They may also have seen the cotton fiber that grew on trees.”
“Marco Polo left detailed accounts of the people and industries of the coastal regions of India in the late thirteenth century. He mentioned seeing on the Coromandel Coast the finest and most beautiful cloth in all the world-buckrams like the tissues of spider webs, and he observed dyeing with indigo in the great textile center of Cambay and spinning of cotton in Gujarat.”
The maxi skirt in this post is a sample of antique Indian textile art. It is all cotton embellished with a variety of needlework patterns and images. The lining has some quilted patterns as well. I am not sure of the age, but from having experience with other vintage and antique textiles, I am guessing it is seventy-five to a hundred years old.
Beautiful Sample of Antique/Vintage Textile Art From IndiaThe underside of the skirt
More info from the Indian Textile History to explain some of the techniques they use:
“Embroidery is important in India and there are many regional styles. Sometimes it is the work of village women; other times it is done by male professionals. There is a vast difference between the work that reaches western markets and the fine embroidery, important for its symbolism, that was made for the courts and temples of old India.
Phulkari (flower work) is a specialty of Punjab embroiderers. Bright-colored floss silk is worked on cotton with a darning stitch (Plate 50). Phulkari is sometimes combined with the mirror work that originated when blue and green beetle backs were sewn onto wedding garments of the hill tribes of southern India. Orthodox Hindus disapproved the practice and so pieces of mica were substituted. Eventually the mica was replaced by bits of glass or mirrors.
A type of chain stitch is worked with a hook in Gujarat to make birds, animals, humans, and flowers in bold colors. In the valley of the Ganges plant designs are worked in white on soft fabrics using satin stitch, and near Bombay running stitches make delightful animal figures on loosely woven cotton. The cross stitch is popular all across India.”
The shawls of Kashmir exhibit some of the most beautiful needlework and artistry of all time. By the beginning of the nineteenth century the shawls were in high demand world-wide, and their creation involved several different specialties. The wool is combed from the underside of Tibetan and Central Asian goats that are raised in Kashmir. This type of cashmere wool is known to be the softest and warmest wool in the world. Once the wool was gathered, the warp maker was tasked with cutting the yarn into lengths.
Once the yarn was ready, the warp threader prepared the loom. The pattern designer created the design in black and white to begin with. The colourist made the decisions on the colours and thread count, which was written down in a form of shorthand.
The weavers wound the yarn on many different bobbins, taking several days to complete. After weaving, the shawl was turned over to the cleaner who cut loose threads and touched up the needlework.
“Kashmir shawl designs were mostly floral until the middle of the eighteenth century, when they began to take on the characteristic cone arrangements. Cones were rather short and fat until the 1830s, when they became elongated with slender tips. By the 1850s they were almost abstract scrolls. Many shawl designs originated in Europe, and at one time Frenchmen went to Kashmir with the purpose of improving the patterns.
“Famine struck Kashmir periodically, but never devastated the weavers as completely as in the 1870s when the Franco-Prussian War closed the French market and the fashion for Kashmir shawls died.”
Although this is a highly individual topic, we take our feet for granted, until they hurt. We need a certain amount of agility to wear really high heels, especially if we have to walk, dance, climb stairs, or even run, wearing them. Alas, those days are no longer the norm.
Running shoes don’t make the grade, unless you are a runner, or power walker. The main reason I don’t like to wear them walking is because they give me a cramp on the top of my foot. I also don’t like the way they look with jeans or a dress. But for some people, they swear by them, or keep a pair handy in case they have to walk a few blocks in the city.
Leather boots have always been my preference for long walks. In the summer, the best sandals are Mephisto by a long shot. Sandals with a cork footbed and leather upper are best for comfort and durability, in my opinion. I have never liked flip-flops or rubber boots since they lack support, breathability, etc. I don’t like any footwear that your foot slips around in, or shoes that slip if you step on certain surfaces.
Some of the soles can be dangerous. Leather soles can be really slippery, even when walking on dry pavement, if you are walking down a fairly steep hill. A rubber sole is safer and will last longer. If they do have leather soles, it is best to take them to a shoe maker, and get the leather sole partially covered with a durable topper. It will help protect the wearer from slipping, as well as the longevity of the leather on the sole.
When it comes to leather boots, ankle boots are the easiest to take off and on. As long as they are well constructed with a leather upper and good fit, they last a long time and will keep your feet dry. It’s too bad they don’t make more styles of Gortex boots for really wet west coast weather. You can find hiking boots and trekking shoes with Gortex outer layers, but you don’t often come across fashionable shoes are boots with Gortex exteriors.
The best walking footwear has a good sturdy footbed that fits the shape of your foot., combined with a leather upper. If wearing heels, again a good fit, and in particular, a style that your foot does not slip in as you walk. This is often the problem with pumps, if one foot is slightly smaller. You either have one foot that slips with each step you take, or one foot that gets a blister, because you went to a smaller size, so one foot won’t slip. Fit is everything when it comes to shoes. Next to that bit of importance is leather, since leather will conform to your foot, and breathe better than manmade materials.
When it comes to more fashionable footwear, I think Stuart Weitzman has some really cool shoes. Other standard luxury brand designers like Versace, Dior and YSL all make some really nice shoes as well, but the prices can be prohibitive. Bruno Magli has a strong history of making quality shoe designs without hitting a thousand dollar price point.
In fact, shoes can certainly be donned as wearable art. They are one of the first things people look at when they size up an outfit. I have noticed that even babies in strollers will look at your feet and then up at your face as you walk by. They are not influenced by design yet, but they have an intuitive curiosity and early awareness about feet and shoes.
Frye boots, if original and not the ones made in China, are also comfortable and long-lasting. The lace up leather calf roping boots, made in Canada and the US, are also great long-lasting boots for semi-rugged walking. In so many locations, even if it is in the city, you have to walk around construction sites, detours, pot holes, and what not. Stepping in holes could be hazardous, and is a sure way to ruin an expensive pair of heels.
Blundstone boots are a great choice for a person who does lots of walking. They are comfortable, long-lasting, and a good price considering how many miles you can put on them without worrying about scuffing them. You can also get them re-soled, so you don’t have to part with a favourite pair of boots until the bitter end.
Blundstones are fairly wide, with a wide toe box, so they may not suit people with long, narrow feet. Some people might think they have a bit of a boho or hippie look. They do go well with exploring nature, without going too far off the beaten track. Good for places like Kits beach – where you can walk for a few miles on sand, grass, sidewalks, or rocks.
Getting back to the more fashionable shoes, if the edge of the heel is covered in a certain colour of leather or a certain design, it is very difficult to repair once damaged. It’s a good thing to keep in mind when you make those expensive purchases. Cobblestone is another tough go to walk on with high heels you do not want to damage. In fact, if it is raining or if there is cobblestone and you are wearing some expensive high heels, either keep some fold up leather flats in your hand bag, or get picked up at the door.
It is no wonder they used to make rubber boots to fit over your shoes back in the fifties. Some even had heels, and no one would leave their house with a good pair of shoes on without protection their shoes. The tops of those plastic boots would cross over, and hook with an elastic that you stretched over a button. They were the dress up version of gum boots, which no one outside the farm yard would have been caught dead in.
Now it is more common to wear rubber boots, as well as crocs and other types of rubber or plastic footwear. Unless it is just to go out for some wood or to get something out of the car, or walking through puddles and streams -rubber and plastic footwear have many disadvantages.
In my opinion, even if you are walking in streams, it is better to wear Gortex boots or running shoes. Tall rubber boots can quickly fill up with water and can be dangerous, if a person is swept underwater. They do not breathe, and tend to be slippery. If it is cold and freezing, they do not keep your feet warm at all.
We have been enjoying a nice warm fall, where we know it is close to giving up the convenience of slipping on sandals to head out the door. There are always a few diehards I admire who will wear sandals and shorts when it is chilly enough to freeze.
When it comes to the elements – wool and leather are still the best protectors. They are natural and will conform to your foot. Plus they are not as hazardous if you get caught in inclement weather.
We will soon be opting for the boots, shoes, mules, or whatever keeps our feet happy. Certain brands suit certain feet. And no two feet are the same!
Most of us know what it is to get into ‘the flow” when immersed in a creative project. If not, we have probably been around someone who does. The hum of a sewing machine, the whir of a spinning wheel, the songs and riffs on a guitar, the tap tap tap when making stained glass windows, gourmet cooking, and so on. During the period of relaxed concentration, there is a state of well-being, which emanates warmth around us.
My association with the state of flow involved in doing a creative project, or labour of love, is one of peace and relaxation. There is an addictive element when it comes to getting into a state of flow, I will readily admit. Once one aspect of it is completed, it has to be evaluated and tweaked.
In seeking to reconcile the past, tangible things provide a form of escapism. The diversion is partly in the intellectual curiosity surrounding what it is made of, the design and patterns, where did it come from, who made it, and most of all how much time, materials, and attention to detail went into making it?
The objectives are layered, as with most things we do. I am more than happy to sell items, and am open to offers on everything in the store. So it is not about holding onto things – as much as it is about learning and photographing them, that inspires me. It certainly has been a lot of work over the years.
Recently I ordered testing tools from a geological place called Mineral Labs in Arizona, in order to test all the coloured gemstones. So far the identification has been through some testing, experience, consultation with jewelers, and taking the word of the seller. I am now looking forward to going through the jewelery and doing a more accurate test on the coloured gemstones.
The limits on testing the coloured gemstones is the inability to identify which ones have been treated. But you can narrow it down to a near positive identification on the actual gemstones. The technology has improved a great deal over the years. They can now use a mathematical algorithm to arrive at the refractive index. You can test gemstones in all kinds of settings, and non faceted gems to a .01 carat, whereas before these methods worked only on loose gemstones, and they had to have a flat faceted contact with the pointer tip.
In addition, all the macro photography has taught me a fair bit about jewelery, since you can see things in the photos that you might have missed even with a light loupe. As far as I can tell, treated gemstones have less of an organic look. They are shinier and more waxy looking.
Photography does project some light, focus, and interest onto an object. It is especially enchanting with hand painted antique porcelain. In most cases, the light has to be right. There is one antique necklace that I tried to photograph recently and so far, cannot capture the way the mother of pearl is backlit with a pink opalescent glow. The necklace itself is sterling silver with a row of mother of pearl inserts and marcasite spacers. When the light is right, hopefully I can get a picture that does it justice.
What amazes me about all these things – is the amount of labour and materials that went into the creation of them. Even in writing a poem, I find it may only take a few minutes to write it, but will end up editing the punctuation, or minor aspects of the wording for hours on end. There is a certain amount of joy in creating something. It is uplifting – yet it can be exhausting if you do too much of it.
We have become so accustomed to fast fashion and glitzy mass produced jewelery, we can miss the real thing. It seems as though items with true artistic merit, will retain the labour of love and still shine for years to come. They do not lose their life and rust or fall apart, because of the way they were made. Perhaps some of the flow and energy from the original artist is what keeps these things alive.
As time goes on, and I have learned to authenticate items with longstanding artistic merit and many hours of labour, I have learned to appreciate what others can do.
It does appear we will have to continue to isolate more than usual. I hope we can all lean a little more toward a state of flow, in order to help alleviate the anxiety caused by covid.
My website is now probably the largest online private collection on the Internet with over 4500 unique products. It kind of surprises me to know that from doing all of the photography, I can remember details on every single item. I do think it helps to keep learning, and remembering things. Some people claim too much stuff creates clutter in our brains. Only if you have not carefully culled, organized and cared for your collection.
In summary, I suppose my goal is to go back into the past, and look for the good, in order to fill in some blanks. Or should I say repaint them, and fill those spaces with some of the art and culture that has sustained and uplifted us. It gives us something to focus on during times of isolation.
There is a great deal of satisfaction in making niche sales to customers from all over the world. In many cases, the buyer has an interesting back story as to why they want a particular item. I have met some of the loveliest people through the sales thus far. It has really helped to reinforce the good in more ways than one.
In one case, it was a beautiful 1930’s bed jacket with quilted raised outlines, chosen by an elderly lady in palliative care as something she wanted to be buried in. It was very touching, and such a romantic extension of her own personality and good taste.
In other cases, the daughters and grand daughters of a certain obscure designer were delighted to find something from their own history and family background. Another lady related how she had a beautiful kimono from the seventies that she absolutely loved – but it was lost or destroyed over the years. She was very happy to find one on the Quiet West website to replace it. It was like spreading sunshine and joy.
There is satisfaction in following through to get these special items delivered to those who will continue to treasure them, probably more than I do. It is a real pleasure to keep spreading the labour of love, the nostalgia, and to keep filling in the blanks on the pages of the past ~ with all the good things we can find.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2020). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
My love for vintage and antique textiles does not include any formal education or degrees, therefore I do a fair bit of research to help make up for it. If not for life circumstances, I may have pursued post-secondary education in arts, culture and the history of fashion. However, so much education is online anyway, so I might as well just keep researching and learning. Learning is lifelong – especially when it comes to things from the past.
To some extent we carry certain passions and aptitudes in our blood lines. Our great grandmother, who raised her family on a farm in northern Sweden was a professional seamstress. She had twelve children, and in pictures, looks as prim and put together as can be. Our grandmother had a spinning wheel and loved to spin. It was her zen time. Our mother also loved to sew, and had a strong creative streak.
So here I am with all this collection of vintage textiles. I don’t buy drapes, quilts, table cloths, or any large textiles anymore – but I still love to prowl around, and go to places where I can marvel at the most impressive vintage textiles.
When it comes to cleanliness and stains, I avoid anything with issues unless I can clean it right away. The few things with stains of unknown origin, I keep separate and put away, until I figure out how to deal with them.
The first thing to do is to simply use plain water. Sometimes a superficial stain can simply be rinsed out. Or use a bit of mild detergent with tepid water. The next step is to soak it. The initial steps should be to clean the item without the use of any harsh chemicals.
One of the good things about antique lace is that it can be immersed in water, whereas many other textiles cannot be safely washed. Certain velvets, silks with many colours, brocades, etc. cannot be washed.
Over the years I have made mistakes and ruined a few things. Recently I listed a top from Carsley’s of Canada, which is from the late 1800’s. It has some historical significance in that Carsley’s created the first mail order catalogue in Canadian history, and was the forerunner of the high-end fashion district in Montreal.
The lace on the upper arms of the Carsely’s top has yellowing from perspiration. It has been wet cleaned and UV treated but those stains are still there. Although I have not followed the antique lace treatment guidelines yet, I may do so, and will take before and after pictures to show if it worked.
I have read about many textile cleaning solutions. From bleach, to lemon juice and salt, sunlight, baking soda, vinegar – you name it. But all of these compounds have chemical properties which cannot be taken lightly, or at the very least, must be taken with a grain of salt.
The next thing on my list is to order or find Orvus Quilt Soap. The chemical name for it is sodium lauryl sulfate. As the above link explains, it is often used to shampoo animals. The neutral PH increases the permeability and facilitates a penetration into the fabric that is not damaging or toxic. It is a wet cleaning method.
The most important aspect of Internet research, or any learning for that matter, is to sift through the mass of information, and find what is least toxic and damaging to the textile, since preservation is the goal. To me, the advice regarding the Orvus Quilt Soap, is the best option and makes the most sense.
Now that I have found something to safely clean antique lace and antique garments that can be immersed in water – I will try it and report back.
In 1871 Samuel Carsley opened a dry goods store on Notre Dame Street in Montreal. Following that, the S. Carsley Co. Limited established Canada’s first mail order catalogue in 1882. They are credited with pioneering Canada’s retail mail order catalogue as an innovative shopping experience.
Within two years Carsley’s was shipping hundreds of products, with any order over $5.00 shipped at no charge to the nearest railroad station, up to a radius of six hundred miles.
The top shown in this blog post is labelled Desideratum S. Carsley Co. and has a most interesting and foundational history in the Montreal fashion district. The label on this Edwardian era top, is printed on the protective underarm inserts – of all places.
In 1909 Carsley’s was sold to A.E. Rea and Co. and was soon referred to simply as Rea’s. In 1911 Rea’s was sold to W.H. Goodwin. It became known as Goodwin’s of Montreal. The only known antique mail order catalogue left, is a Goodwin catalogue from the Fall-Winter of 1911-1912.
Goodwin’s was sold to T. Eaton’s in 1925 and underwent extensive and posh renovations, providing six stories of shopping intrigue. Another three stories were added in 1931. Eaton’s increased its visibility with the elegant store on St. Catherine’s Street in Montreal, and introduced a French catalogue in 1928.
This cotton and lace top with pin-tucking and rigid boning, is in very good shape considering it’s age. There is some yellowing on the lace on the upper arms. The waist is very tiny at twenty-two inches, which would have been worn with a tightly cinched corset.
It is a pleasure to present this treasure of bygone days – especially since Montreal is such a gem when it comes to the richness of Canadian fashion, arts and culture.
With it’s princess waist and time frame, it might be called a French-dart-line-top. This shapely emphasis on the waist was a signature of the famous designer Charles Worth. By the late 1870’s to 1880’s this was a most popular form. Given the sizing on the label and type of lace, this top was likely ordered from France. Carsley’s carried many high end imported garments and home decor.
Bleach as a surface cleaner is probably one of the strongest disinfectants, and one of the few that will kill the Hep C virus. But bleach cannot be used on most textiles. Plus it has it’s own health hazards with regards to fumes and is an irritant to the skin.
There are many less harmful methods, such as the use of essential oils with anti viral and anti bacterial properties. Neem and tea tree oil are also good for cleaning surfaces. A drop or two can also be added to the wash.
One thing most bugs cannot stand is extreme heat and extreme cold. So before you store away your wool coats and sweaters, consider steaming them. There are commercial steamers that do not take up much space, and work very well, not only for steaming the wrinkles out of a blouse, but for steaming most garments, drapes, couches, bedding etc.
In some cases, I steam and then freeze an item. The rule of thumb is to put the textile in the freezer for 24 hours. I put it in a plastic container so it does not absorb odours or contaminate anything, and just leave it there for a day or two.
On a personal level, I am not convinced that masks are the answer. For one thing they get moist from the breath. One thing you will know if you have ever had abdominal surgery, is that on the day you take the post-op shower, you are told to call the nurse as soon as you get out, so that the bandage is changed. The reason for this is because once a bandage is wet, it is no longer effective.
The permeability of microbes through wet or moist masks or bandages is one factor, but also the re-breathing of the microbes and slight change in O2 concentration might be worse than wearing no mask at all. The other thing is that most paper or home made masks are not a tight enough weave to filter microbes.
Front line workers wear masks that are properly fitted and of better quality. Ideally there should be a different mask worn for each patient treatment, but I’m not sure if that is the case. Maybe when they do patient care, the mask should be put on the patient instead, which is probably already the case.
Whether you choose to wear a mask in public or not – it might also be helpful to do some research on essential oils with antimicrobial properties. The ones that come to mind, other than the well known and exceptional qualities of oregano oil, are cypress oil, thyme and marjoram. These can be dabbed on your nostrils before going out in public. You can also add a few drops to coconut oil and use as a hand cream.
Frequent hand washing can damage the surface of the skin, leading to chapped hands, cracked skin and bleeding. Obviously this is not ideal. Hand sanitizers are useful when out and about, but they contain alcohol and are very drying to the skin.
The skin is the bodies largest organ, and the integrity of the skin is an important barrier to protect us against infection. Not all things are equal when it comes to what we put on our skin. It gets absorbed into the body.
While we are still in the stay at home mode – it is worthwhile to research and evaluate household products, make up and skin creams. Some of the most expensive make up lines are ironically, also the most toxic.
Personally, I don’t think it is a good idea to slather any kind of cream on large areas of the body, with the exception of coconut or olive oil, which are good carriers for essential oils.
Our bodies are well prepared to protect us, from filtering the air to the protective layers of the skin. When combined with a whole food diet, fresh air, exercise and plenty of sleep – the immune system does a fantastic job of dealing with pathogens.
We cannot completely eliminate the exposure to microbes, pollens, mildew, viruses, bacteria, dust, etc. But, we can have confidence that overcoming these threats on a personal level and regaining confidence in our interactions with the world around – is a good thing.
Throughout history humans have endured a fair bit of change and upheaval. Wars, economic disasters, natural disasters, famines and plagues dominate the horizons and create a catalyst for change.
Probably more than anything, our expectations have changed. We had a period of time where travel was fairly easy. Following 911, there was a change in security measures, which we eventually got used to. Once again, things have become much more stringent, with increasing uncertainty, when it comes to travel
We are shocked and rattled by certain events that are far away, but if it does not change our day to day lives – we breathe a sigh of relief and carry on. For most of us, nothing has changed and rocked our world like the covid crisis. The bifurcations of this epidemic have tentacles into civil liberties, social freedom, home life, health care, travel, education, politics and the economy.
If it is a crisis, it will pass. People will adapt, pick up the pieces and figure out a way to live according to different guidelines and restrictions. One thing that does not change, is human nature. We are social beings, some more so than others. We are activity oriented, again, some more so than others. We are migratory. Throughout history when things got tough in one area, people would move to another area that showed more promise. People seek stability, jobs, agriculture, safety, and fundamental freedoms.
The problem with the covid virus is that it is a global problem. There is nowhere to go to escape it, and the rules around migration have suddenly become prohibitively restrictive. The fact the coronavirus is a large and common family of viruses, makes the likelihood of the occasional virulent strain very high. It seems to me, we are not going to escape the parameters of this disease. Clearly, it can be a reason to track and control people using health in politics. Privacy concerns, along with the protection of democratic freedoms, are justifiable issues to be addressed by well meaning people.
We are being told that people carry the virus without knowing it. It is true that people carry all kinds of viruses and bacteria, so this is not something new. As with all things negative, or shadow casting and restrictive, one can only look to overcoming some of the negatives by reinforcing and doing what is good.
Good things include – cooking, cleaning, care of ourselves and our homes, art, listening to music, working, gardening, exercise, fresh air, sunshine, learning, creativity, photography, photo-editing, writing, bird watching, walking, interactive games, playing music, singing, organizing, conversing, sharing, family bonds, encouraging each other, humour, planning, improving, giving….as just some examples of good things to explore and do.
The things that concern me the most about all the covid changes – is the loss of fundamental freedoms, combined with the fear of abuses of power and exploitation in health care. We cannot argue with something that is invisible. We have no choice but to follow the directions of top doctors and experts, now responsible for announcing every decision surrounding what we can and cannot do.
The range of responses to this sudden pandemic, and how it has changed our lives, are widely varied. Some people are completely sold on what the experts are telling us. There are those who suddenly view human contact as an endangerment to life, like it’s an automatic death sentence if you come in contact with other people.
Some people are calling snitch lines on infractions, like dog walkers and trail runners, or if someone is using a park or vacant parking lot to let kids practice skateboarding or bicycling. What they are losing sight of, is the law of probability, and the fact there is risk-taking involved in almost everything we do. Those reports are not based on threat of harm.
Every time we take a prescription drug, get into a car, eat food, walk up or down a flight of stairs, get on a ladder, swim in a lake or the ocean, ride a bicycle, go to an air show or rodeo, get into a boat, canoe or kayak – we are taking risks. The fact that a certain percentage of people fall down the stairs, does not mean we eliminate stairs.
I do not have a problem with whistle blowers, if it involves trying to stop the abuse of a vulnerable population. It is commendable and difficult to do, and the reality is that it brings about a backlash of more punishment than reward.
However, I don’t believe in nit-picking, spying on, and reporting people for doing ordinary wholesome activities. Busy bodies are a pain. People have to be allowed to use their own judgement and take a certain amount of risk. Surely we cannot obliterate the regular laws that took hundreds of years to develop, for a virus that cropped up two months ago.
The notion of worshipping people, or certain groups of people is something I find very strange. The latest trend to call all health care workers heroes, is a bit much. People go into health professions for a variety of reasons, in most cases, it is because of the availability of jobs.
Like all professions, health care attracts the good, the bad and the ugly. There are some excellent and competent people who work in the field of health care, and there are those who don’t give a damn. Now we are seeing huge bill boards, parades, and all kinds of hero worshipping directed at all health care workers.
Once again, this only serves to create a division or another polarity between people who are working and those who are not. By all means, health care workers should be treated with respect and renumeration, but we need to keep in mind that all infrastructure is important.
Imagine if there was no water, sewage, hydro or garbage pick up all of a sudden? Generally the way we work revolves around the old adage, where there is a need – someone will fill it. That’s what makes the world go round. All businesses revolve around supplying a product or service that meets a societal need, or consumer demands.
People in all walks of life do heroic things from time to time. But to me a hero is someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty, like saving a child who fell into the river, or going into a burning building to save someone. Or if a cougar jumps on your friend, and you attack the cougar. Or the lady who lost her hand trying to help someone in a wheelchair get across the train tracks. Those are some examples that define heroism, to me anyway.
The other extreme reaction, is to go out in droves to protest the lockdowns. Although we have always had a right to peaceful assembly in democratic countries, it seems to have gone overboard just prior to all the shutdown. I don’t recall another time when protesters broke into and occupied the BC Legislature and the Office of the AG in Vancouver. That’s not what anyone would consider to be peaceful protest. There was a line crossed during the pre-covid recent protests.
Is there any middle ground? Has the swinging of the pendulum from extreme to extreme contributed to what we are faced with now? How can a virus be so interconnected with politics? How much of it is over reaction? How much will people tolerate?
The right to thought, belief and opinion is one of the final things to be taken away. In fact, they cannot take away our thoughts and beliefs no matter what they do. Even if they take away the right to express the opinions, it will not stop people from having them.
Thought reform is done persistently and gradually – using fear, deception, and shaming. Then a small morsel of hope is tossed out as a bit of a lifeline. First there is shaming, then there is praise for acquiescing. It is an effective way to get people to toe the line. Intelligent dialogue is warranted, probably more so now than ever before. In fact, there are many contradictions to be clarified, along with legitimate questions and challenges to bring forward.
We have had the polarity of extremes swinging in front of us. The media attention given to the rise of the cult of personality with both Trump and Greta Thunberg has been a staggering contributor to the political changes that are running parallel to the covid crisis. In both cases, there is extremism – backed by the monied interests hovering behind the scenes.
If anything, it is like there is a merging of communism and fascism. When you consider China for example, as a communist country – the capitalism is overwhelming. Likewise, Greta trademarked her name, re-donates prize money given to her by her donors, has a wide range of fast fashion T-shirts and promo items on the market, to include anti-fascist T-shirts. The dichotomies between Thunberg and Trump have created a merging of sorts. It is a merging of elitism and influence with ideologies that they themselves don’t see or understand because they are not the creators of the script. They are the actors on the world stage. They only have to appeal to the masses.
It is enough to make one’s head spin. Trump has all his business interests, reality TV show drama, controversies and wars. The rallies were growing exponentially with a high level of energy and rioting. One can only imagine how things would have escalated if not for covid.
The last Greta Thunberg rally just a few weeks before the shutdown, created all kinds of damage to the lawns, and required excessive policing resources, and clean up afterwards. When rallies or demonstrations get to the point where they are causing environmental damage or whipping people into hysteria – it’s not good.
There are many in-depth questions to ponder. We will have, and hopefully will be able to share divergent opinions. We have been told over and over to stay safe. It’s the new cool mantra. That advice is sound. But not only around viruses – but everything from driving, to condoms, to sports, to street drugs, fire hazards, and tripping over your feet.
Stay safe. Stay sane. Stay home. But not without kicking up a fuss, and at least asking why we can’t go to a Provincial Park.
Human nature is part of all nature. To a certain extent, we can and will change. But there are some aspects of human nature that will never change.
Death is inevitable for all of us. In the bigger scheme of things, death is as natural as apples falling off a tree. Sometimes the end will be hastened by a wind storm. The fall might be precipitated by some other force of nature. Other times, they just ripen and dangle, until their time is up, and weight and gravity urge them to let go.
Overcoming the fear of death – is the one thing that will help us face the greatest change of all. It brings us closer to understanding the power and endurance of the human spirit.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2020). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
It is not that I blame China for the coronavirus and subsequent economic woes – since I have been dedicated to collecting items that were not made in China for many years.
The primary reason I chose to do this – is to promote the better quality items from the designer’s original country of origin. In my opinion, it enriches the style of products, retains the artistic flair, and provides a range of products with superior quality, better fabric, and attention to detail. I have stayed away from mass produced fast fashion, as it was clear to me a long time ago, that it is rapidly filling up our landfills.
As a Canadian I wish to shine the light on, and promote Canadian fashion designers, since they are rich in history, and as talented as our European fashion rivals. Our best designers come from Montreal and Toronto. Even though Vancouver and the west coast is distanced from our large Eastern cities, so much that at times it seems we have little in common – we do share some of this rich Canadian heritage.
It has been a real pleasure to collect vintage items that were made in London in the sixties, and Japanese kimonos with their beautiful silk fabrics, alongside gowns made in Paris, New York and Montreal.
The more contemporary made in China labels just never got my interest level up, to where I would want to put it on a mannequin and take multiple pictures of it. I view that as a waste of time.
Recently I sold two original vintage Leo-Danal dresses to the daughter of the original designer in Montreal. I was thrilled to get some more history and background on the designer, and she, a prolific artist and painter – was delighted to find these gems that are a part of her own artistic heritage.
The only items in the Quiet West collection that are made in China – are the vintage items made in Hong Kong with detailed bead work. These include hand beaded purses from the fifties and a stunning hand sequinned Gene Shelley dress from the sixties. Things made in Hong Kong in that era are exempt from the general rule of thumb, since they are not mass produced or labeled made in China.
More than ever – it is worthwhile to choose quality over quantity and things with long lasting value versus things that quickly end up in the land fill.
If you want to shop for Canadian made products or for items made in London, France, Italy, New York and Montreal – you have come to the right place.
Please check back for some more history on exceptional mid-century Canadian designers. Some things are worth going back to.
Although I have always thought of these tailored and highly versatile tops simply as vests – they are also referred to as waistcoats, sleeveless jackets, and gilets. The down filled, leather and wool varieties might be worn as jackets, or under a coat to keep your core warm. They are great when layered over a sweater or hoodie if you want a less bulky freedom of movement for an active lifestyle.
There are people who are naturally warm blooded, and can wear a tank top almost anywhere and not be cold – but some of us unfortunately are just the opposite. Another vest advantage, is if you must take your coat off, yet worry about being cold, such as going out for dinner – a padded gilet is like a comfort measure you can add, to avoid freezing while indoors. They do not have any trailing parts that might dip into the food, like some bell sleeves and large wrap scarves do.
Regardless of whatever fashion trend is happening, I have always loved vests. They can be worn over a skimpy top to add a looser layer, or buttoned up to accent the waist and cover the tummy. In the summer months lighter vests can be worn buttoned up as a sleeveless top. They can be paired with skirts or blue jeans, with western wear, or to jazz up an evening outfit. In addition to being practical and comfortable, the coolest thing about them is how much intrigue they can add to almost any outfit.
Once you like the fit and look of a certain vest, you will be certain to hang onto it for a long time. Vests add warmth, colour and contour – and often have a much coveted extra pocket or two for a cell phone or keys.
Whether you are looking to a kick up an outfit for a night of line dancing, or like the cut and comfort of a certain style, there are many to choose from. The zippered and snap fronts are among my favourites. Have a look at the samples below to see what type of vest might suit your own fashion repertoire. Whether you lean toward comfortable chic, feminine toppers, jazzy western, outdoorsy layers, or dinner at the Ritz – these stylish additions are sure to have your back!
Isadora Paris Beaded LeatherIceberg Leather With Blue Wool Back Covered With Images of Origami Bats?Iceberg Jacket Back – ItalyA Touch Of Black Silk – FranceCache Natural Suede Leather – CanadaHairston Roberson Ropa Embellished Denim – Dallas TexasDonna Karan Soft Black Suede – USASee By Chloe Feathery Wool VestGallant Gaumont Montreal Sleeveless Jacket – Montreal, CanadaVersus Versace Bright Garden Theme – ItalyKenzo Wool Wrap Style
The romanticism of vintage lingerie lingers long past the dates they were sewn. Perhaps not the everyday wear, which was patched and darned for practical reasons – but rather the lounging past, where one would be temporarily bedridden. She would remain close to her hairbrushes and powder room, and require some delicate habiliment as well.
Vintage bed jackets were frequently worn because while in bed, the lower part of the body was covered with blankets. In order to receive guests or sit up for a cup of tea, the bed jacket was donned for warmth as well as to create a more appealing image. Pretty things tend to cheer up a person who is sickly and shut in for periods of time.
Vintage full slips were often decorated with lace, plisse accents, fancy trim, and embroidery. It is not uncommon to find vintage slips with side or back zippers, making them more like a skimpy modern day dress than a slip. Some slips are elaborately made with lace insets and ruffled bottoms. In the thirties and forties, many of them were made with a bias cut similar to the dressmaking of the era. Other than fabrics and labels, a tip to help identify authentic full slips, is to look at the adjustable shoulder straps. The modern day reproductions have plastic hardware to adjust the straps, whereas vintage slips have metal ones.
Antique and vintage petticoats will often have a lace ruffle on the bottom, or layers of ruffles. The labels on vintage lingerie tend to be very small, often on an inside seam. Peignoir sets were common additions to the bride’s trousseau or honeymoon attire. These sets consisted of both a nightgown and a matching robe to wear over top. Both were adorned with matching ribbons and lace. Many of the peignoir sets were voluminous and flowing in style. They could be quite dangerous if worn near an open fire. One such account describes the death of the second wife of lyric poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Apparently the spark from a wood stove caught her long and flowing bed clothing on fire.
In the twenties and again in the sixties, there was a surge of popularity around the Asian aesthetic. Kimonos and kaftans were high fashion for the evening soiree. There has been a recurrent fascination for ethnic and exotic textiles from faraway lands. The high fashion trends often followed along the same lines and styles of home decor, to include elaborately hand painted teapots and vases from the Orient.
Embroidered Kaftan – KuwaitMatching Ribbon Front Ties On A 1950’s Peignoir SetAntique White On White Embroidered Bed JacketDetails Such As Covered Buttons & Inset Ribbons On Peignoir Sets1960’s Hand Painted Peace & Love BraCan’t Forget The 1960’s Flower Power!1950’s Nylon Peignoir Set1950’s Bridal Peignoir Set – CanadaBill Tice Kaftan With Gold Detailing1950’s Nylon Crinoline1960’s Pucci-Like Loungewear With Matching TrousersVintage Chinese Embroidered RobePatricia Fieldwalker 1980’s Silk Set1950’s Embroidered Half SlipSilk Bed Jacket With Embroidery1950’s Full Slip1960’s Lounging Jumpsuit With Front Panel
Highly decorative shawls and wraps date back to India and Persia in the third century. The earliest known manufacturing began with the looms of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The original Kashmir shawls are made of goat hair, and were often elaborately woven and decorated. By the eighteen hundreds these shawls became increasingly popular in Europe as well. They were a subject of much fascination, and became coveted outerwear for the most fashion conscious, as well as creative individuals attracted to wearable art. They were especially popular to be seen wearing at the live performance theatres and operas.
To keep up with the rising demand for beautifully designed shawls, France and Great Britain developed a mechanized shawl industry, in order to imitate the famous Kashmir shawls. Known as Paisley workshops, they were able to create a price competition for the shawls, which forced the original Kashmir production to cut costs and compromise on quality.
The shawl industry peaked in the eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds before there was dip in the demand. The loss of interest at the time can ironically be attributed to the mass production. Regardless, from the twenties onward, shawls have continued to be worn by discerning and creative individuals. The sixties in particular, brought about a revival in decorative shawls, from Kashmir goat wool, to fringed piano shawls, and all kinds of capes and ponchos.
Just as it was hundreds of years ago, shawls can be worn over a plain wool jacket or sweater, or to offset a certain type of skirt. They can be draped over dresses and evening wear. A casual chic look with a hippie flair shows them worn with jeans, boots, and tank tops. They have been popular in warmer climates with cooler evenings, to drape over the shoulders as the temperature falls. They can be an elaborate addition to the little black dress instead of wearing a coat.
Below are some samples of different types of shawls and wraps. The Persian method of draping is shown in some of the pics below. To wear it this way you put one third of the shawl to one shoulder, and then drape the rest so the fringe or edge falls to one side.
Wool Shawl With Hand Knotted FringeClose Up Of The Weaving & KnottingRuffled Wool Cape Shawl With A Tight Weave – ItalyLavishly Embellished Wool ShawlClose Up Of Needlework On Embellished ShawlThis Image Shows The Extensive Amount Of Embroidery & VibrancyWoven Shawl With Vibrant ColoursThe Reverse Side Of This Unique Woven ShawlBeautifully Embroidered Silk ShawlClose Up Of Floral Embroidery On Silk ShawlChanel 1980’s Shawl Decorated On Both SidesMid-Century Embroidered Kashmir Shawl
: the clothes created by coutureFor them, buying French couture has become a status symbol, something to rack up along with their brand-new BMWs and their hacienda-style villas …— Vogue
The Vogue quote taken from the Miriam Webster dictionary gives a subjective definition, but it still leaves it to the imagination. Does it include ready to wear? Is it high fashion from certain places only? Is there a difference between couture and haute couture?
The real couture refers to clothing that was essentially commissioned from one of the famous couturiers, similar to any other work of art. The term haute couture means high dressmaking, high fashion, or high sewing. The work is done by the most experienced and capable dressmakers, made by hand, using opulent fabrics, trim and needlework. The garment is often created in consultation with the client and is custom fitted.
In France, the term haute couture is a protected name and can only be used if the fashion house adheres to strict standards. The original and famous haute couture in the nineteenth century is credited to Charles Frederick Worth in 1868, with rare and coveted pieces in high demand among serious collectors. Few garments in the modern era are made with such lavish decorations and attention to detail. Although Worth made the concept famous, haute couture dates back to the seventeenth century Kings and Queens, specifically Marie Antoinette who had her own private dressmaker.
In 1930 and again in 1945 the description of haute couture included the following criteria: made to order with one or more fittings, atelier employing a minimum of fifteen full-time staff and twenty technical staff, and a presentation to the public of at least fifty original designs each year.
Today there is a list of about twenty members on the official French list. Those considered to be in the high fashion or couture category are famous designers such as Chanel, Dior, YSL, Schiaparelli, Courreges, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Patou, and several others. Made to order clothing is far less common today than it was a hundred years ago since it is so labour intensive, the profit margins are reduced, which also reduces the incentive to do custom orders.
There was a time when it was very trendy for wealthy women to order a haute couture dress from a Parisian dressmaker. However as time has gone by and most garments are sold pret-a-porter, which means ready to wear as opposed to made to measure, true haute couture is now quite rare. The more common pret-a-porter label applies to designer clothing made by famous designers, and is often a sub-title on the garment label.
As it is with other subjective terms, haute couture can refer to a made to measure garment from a well known or famous atelier. If the item is made in France, they have specific criteria to be met by an organization known as the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture with a list of official members. With more stringent legal parameters France provides us with the history of the term, the original outlines, and the closest definition.
In other countries the definition does not have legal parameters, therefore the reputation of the designer, attention to detail, workmanship, originality, and overall quality are the things to consider. Almost all famous designers have a range of ready-to-wear clothing with some fairly casual items and others that are very expensive and detailed. For example you can find vintage Alexander McQueen or Thierry Mugler dresses ranging from a thousand dollars to twenty-five thousand, so prices can vary widely.
High end designer clothing that is not made to measure could be called couture instead of haute couture, meaning it is ready to wear, and made to very high dressmaking standards, with attention to detail and hand finishing. Perhaps it is more accurate to claim an item is couture quality, when describing well made fashion pieces. Although the term is often misused or misunderstood, when it comes to high fashion – it is generally not one to be used or worn loosely!
The following pics show some close-up examples of vintage needlework and detailing in fine garments.
Chanel Evening Top With Sequinned Detail 1990’s1950’s Fine Embroidery On A Skirt & Top Set1960’s Mike Benet Gown With Satin SkirtDistinctively Yours 1960’s Pleated Smock Dress – Canada1950’s Priscilla Of Boston Linen Dress With Embroidery At WaistThe Under Side Of A Trimmed KaftanJacquard Kaftan With Hand Stitched Trim & Tiny Buttons
The twentieth century left a trail of embellishments that will never be re-created except in couture fashion houses for the elite. As we look back at some of the beadwork, laid work, embroidery, hand-painted wonders, sequins and stitch work – we see a reflection of the times. There was no Internet or cell phones for a good part of the twentieth century. More time was devoted to the application of ideas, colour, buttons, beads, sequins, embroidery – all to enhance the aesthetic appeal. Everything from the most elegant of dresses to radical looking blue jeans, to aprons, table cloths, and bedding – were needled into some shape or form; decorated as such for the sole purpose of beautification. Some fine examples of time consuming embellishments are shown in the pictures below.
Close Up Of A 1920’s Small Beaded Flapper BagFull Circle Maxi Skirt 1940’s Or 1950’s IndiaEmbroidered On SilkBeaded & Sequinned SleeveHand Painted 1920’s1980’s Dress With Embroidered Bow1940’s Cropped Velvet Jacket1950’s Black On Black Sequinned Cardigan1960’s Embellished BlouseScene On A 1930’s Japanese Kimono1970’s Batik Maxi Skirt1930’s Or 1940’s Peasant Style With Decorative Stitching1990’s Light Jacket 1970’s With Embroidery & Sequins1960’s Embellished Trim On Silk Dress1990’s Casadei Cocktail Dress
Art glass in jewelery from the thirties through to the sixties left behind some stunners. When you consider they made costume jewelery sets with five strand necklaces decorated with faceted Swarovski crystals and hand made coloured beads, in today’s world, it is pretty decadent detailing – as well as being labor intensive. Often the beads were etched, hand painted or gilded with metals and other accents. From lamp work and blown glass, to the secret methods of design passed down through generations of glass makers – they added to the iconic opulence and radiance of the era.
1950’s Three Strand Art Glass Necklace
1960’s Shapely Art Glass In Lavender & WhiteCiner1960’s Milky White Art Glass1950’s In Gold Accented PastelsPrecision Cut Glass1950’s Vendome Featuring Faux Turquoise Beads & Glass
According to Internet statistics, there are 644 million websites worldwide, which seems staggering in terms of competition. Further research indicates that 75% of the registered websites are parked domains. The remaining websites serve us with a range of information, products, government and banking services, and entertainment.
As far as e-commerce sites, reports vary widely with some suggesting there are twelve to twenty-four million online stores, while others give much more realistic numbers. RJ Metrics set up an algorithm with claims of 95% accuracy to determine the actual numbers. They concluded there are approximately 110,000 e-commerce sites worldwide.
To further narrow it down RJ Metrics was able to tell us how many of the e-commerce sites are heads or tails, without flipping a coin. As expected, more than 90% are in the head. Many bloggers and business people also try to evaluate the middle and overall length of the tail.
In reality, there are only about 10,000 long tail web shops to date. The long tail represents niche markets and obscure one of a kind items that are hard to find otherwise. The difficulty with long tail products is that it is harder to reach the intended audience. The web development time is longer, which is a deterrent to many start-ups. Instead of putting up four or five pictures of mass produced T-shirts for example, and then adding the variables in colours and sizes – one must photograph and describe a large volume of products one by one.
Although the concept of niche marketing is not new, the long tail theory is only about ten years old. In supply and demand chains, when distribution and storage costs go down, it opens the door for niche markets. A good example of this is how the Indie author book sales captured a 36% share of the Amazon book market. Independent authors and publishers can now create and deliver digital products to a minority audience. This was never possible when authors relied on large publishers and distribution networks to succeed.
The gist of the successful long tail e-commerce site is to have a large volume of one-of-a kind items. This seems logical. When doing Internet research on vintage clothing web shops, it becomes evident that the smaller stores with minimal product get lost in the shuffle and don’t attract much attention.
As I learn about how the products we choose as we embark upon the e-commerce learning curve, it reinforces what I have believed for a long time. If distribution and storage costs are reduced to make it possible to get our own little cubbyhole of products launched – it opens doors for more creativity, independence and autonomy in business. It also reaches customers who have less interest in the head – but may have in-depth interest in products with less hype and advertising.
The long tail serves a wider spectrum in the culture and arts segment. Initially the choices to sell niche, second hand, collectibles, and antiques was limited to eBay and Etsy shops. A lot of water has gone under the Internet bridge since eBay was launched in 1995. Etsy followed with a large multi-vendor platform in 2005. The high end multi-vendor site 1stdibs was founded in 2001 and FarFetch followed suit in 2007. Canada’s RealReal site and FarFetch both raised well over a hundred million dollars to launch and promote long tail e-commerce. Much of the second hand market is based on consignment, which is different than a private collection.
In my opinion consignment has multiple issues. If a person decides to sell their items on consignment, they will typically have numerous things they want to sell. If the retailer wants two or three of those items, they are pressured to take all of them. Whereas with a private collection amassed over time, the selection criteria remains fairly consistent.
Consignment also has multiple accounting considerations. If large retailers become insolvent, they must return items to the original owner, or the reputation for selling on consignment will suffer. However, unless a person has been collecting and storing product for decades, consignment is the only way to get the luxury brand vintage products for resale. E-commerce has helped the vintage and second hand clothing market by leaps and bounds. Otherwise most of the beautiful and artistic vintage clothing would never be photo-documented and shown off like it is now.
Since there are not too many people who will accumulate, save and store product for many years, the Quiet West website is a good long tail learning experience. It is somewhat encouraging to know there are not six hundred million competitors out there! Of the 10,000 long tail E-commerce sites, they include independent books, foreign films, photography, art, music, and the vintage clothing and second hand market.
The conclusion may not be a get rich quick scheme for the long tail retailer. But we can make great gains when it comes to increasing cultural and intellectual diversity and choices. What happens if the long tail becomes thick or bloated over time – and the head starts to shrink?
Paradoxically, I think the long tail ideas and products make for a higher and more sophisticated consumer intellect, more choices, serve minority interests, reduce pollution, and create a greater cultural awareness.
There will always be both inspiration and aspiration for the starving artists and determined but small entrepreneurs who are willing to put in the extra development time to get their products in front of people. As far as growth is concerned – the tail could get thicker or it could get longer. After all – we can’t let everything go to our heads!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet
West Vintage (2018). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material
without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is
strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and
clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with
appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2018). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
There is an old adage referring to sterling silver as being the “poor man’s gold”. But for such a title, sterling silver could not be described as the next best thing to gold, because there is such a difference between the two. Regardless of the huge difference in value, there are many reasons to choose sterling silver over gold.
Sterling silver lasts a long time and cleans up beautifully. Whereas in my opinion, the thing to avoid is gold and silver plated jewellery, because over time the plating wears off. Jewelery should not turn into junk within ten or twenty years. As a matter of fact, fine jewelery – if taken care of should last forever. For example, the new Hermes bracelets are plated with platinum, which is not a good deal for seven or eight thousand dollars each. They will not stand up to the test of time.
Sterling silver is a more relaxed medium for artists, allowing creative freedom in the design, to include clunky and large pieces, and best of all – the extensive use of coloured gemstones. You don’t see that in gold jewelery very often.
The modernist lines, open work, and carving in some sterling silver, is quite remarkable. There is time-consuming finesse in the workmanship involved. Sterling silver can be worn with any outfit, from casual to ballroom. From bold and heavy to delicate and cascading, it can be matched to the style of an outfit and the personality of the wearer. It does not have the look of being overtly gaudy or ostentatious – yet there is enough pizzazz in some of the designs to turn heads.
For a fraction of the cost of gold – you get artistic workmanship second to none. Personally I would rather buy a unique artisan sterling silver piece of jewelery over and above a platinum plated Hermes bracelet any day, regardless of how much money I had to spend.
Therefore in my humble opinion – the oxymoron in the old gold adage, is that the gold plated jewelery is really the poor woman’s gold, even though it might be very expensive.
And sterling silver? If it is well crafted, nothing beats it for everyday wear. For special occasions – there are some sterling silver gemstone statement pieces that can rival any other jewelery design or materials.
The silversmith world is full of master craftspeople who exhibit endless creativity and lasting value in the pieces they compose. In truth, there is no other metal with such an illustrious history of design.
I’m writing this early in the morning, and am not thinking too much about wearing either silver or gold. But the latest song I have enjoyed playing and singing, is the Emmylou Harris song called “Gold” from her “All I Intended To Be” album. The chorus line “No matter how bright I glitter, baby – I could never be gold…” Makes sense to me!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2018). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
There are many reasons to avoid the Made in China labels. Not as a prejudice toward the people of China or their capacity to make product, because they make some of the most beautiful porcelain and silk embroidered textiles in the world. Vintage items made in Hong Kong are made by hand with attention to detail and can easily be distinguished from the cheap reproductions. It is the mass-produced made in China fast fashion and jewelry that is to be avoided. A high percentage of it is ending up in the landfills.
During the depression era in Canada, you would never know it now, but people were so poor they often did not have a single pair of shoes to wear. Clothing was patched repeatedly, to include mending underwear and darning socks. When an item of clothing fell apart, the spare fabric was used to make quilts. Women used rolled up rags or strips of folded newspaper to curl their hair.
When it came to food or fabric – stretching it was the first and most important consideration. Many prairie children from large families scrambled to get to the table quickly enough to get adequate portions of food. There was shame associated with poverty, so the mantra was always to “make do” with what you have. The stigmatization of wearing second hand clothing was the basis for mockery and insults. It is interesting to note that songs in the sixties and seventies contributed to the humiliation. Then came the hip-hop song in 2012 “Thrift Store” to counter some of those earlier pigeonholing attitudes. It didn’t hurt the newfound trendier second hand market to have gorgeous actresses and models don vintage dresses for celebrity events and awards. Poverty creates an endless cycle – yet beauty is timeless.
Today’s poverty is somewhat different. Instead of the sparse conditions of the past, we are now inundated with material things and rampant consumerism, but it is a vacuous abyss. For vast numbers of people losing motivation and overdosing in the midst of all this materialism, creates a chasm of grief emotionally, and again, in terms of the loss of human potential. We are steeped in the seductive appeal of accumulating wealth, yet more people are hungry, homeless or in severe emotional pain than ever before. It is testimony to the fact we have too much consumerism and not enough “soul”.
My pursuit to collect things other people don’t want – and to avoid things made in China, paradoxically came from experiencing poverty. Society seems to have a standard that dictates if we have nothing – we are nothing. It is easier to cease to exist and be blotted out or erased, if you are a proven non-entity. There is seldom a mention in the news of the world when a poverty-stricken or drug addled person dies and is simply – gone.
As much as we can refute materialism and consumerism, we will never get away from it because of the supply and demand chain. There are many reasons to avoid clothing made in China. Fast fashion items have a short shelf life, and some of it is not that cheap. You will often find that the seams unravel; the garment does not hang straight, and does not stand up to the test of time.
Clothing made in Canada on the other hand, is just the opposite. Canadians are known for making good quality product. Montreal deserves endless accolades for their creative contributions to Canada’s fashion and art scene. Toronto is also right up there as far as being appreciative and supportive of some of Canada’s great talent. We do sometimes have a tendency to be conservative and fuddy-duddy – but we fare quite well on the global vintage fashion scene, thanks to our eastern counterparts and their love of Canadian culture.
The problem with the upsurge of fast fashion and the rapid cycling of trendy but trashy clothing from China is that it contributes to impoverishing our own talents and ability to design and manufacture Canadian products. How can we have so many people losing value for their own lives and dying in the streets, while in the midst of plenty? It’s a true epidemic, and a mind-boggling one at that. Why do we need to go into a supermarket and see an entire wall full of different kinds of shampoo and conditioner? Do we really need three hundred different kinds of soap and product for our hair?
Yes I have amassed a huge collection and am the epitome of materialism. And the motivation is probably strongly associated with addiction and fear of poverty. But there is a satirical element interwoven into the collection. People have a tendency to seek what is new. Yet almost all new things are copies or adaptations of things from the past. The world of the newly made cannot compete with things from the past. Good product cannot be made in a rapid churn and burn cycle.
Canada, France, Italy, UK, Germany and the USA have a proven track record when it comes to making high quality, fashionable clothing and jewelry. The biggest difference between made in China versus North American and European clothing is that certain things are iconic, classic, and have lasting value – whereas there is nothing contemporary made in China worth saving. That should tell us all we need to know.
Success is a concept which was not even articulated until after the twelfth century. We spend our entire lifetime seeking something ill-defined and based on what? In truth – good food, a supportive and cohesive family, peace of mind, health, optimism, meaningful work, fresh air, mobility, quality of life – are all markers of success. Fame and fortune are actually very short lived, and create an illusion somewhat like a desert oasis. It is very appealing until you get there, and your hard won concept of success can go up in a puff of smoke. Even Elvis Presley ended up in a lonely and disenchanted place of addiction and loss of talent.
All art is an expression of emotion – depicting the extremes and experiences of our existential and inner condition. Whether art imitates life or life imitates art – one key point can be extrapolated in either case: life and art imitates and expresses emotion in every realm. Emotion is not to be discounted, trivialized, or contrived as being a disquieting hysteria coming from unstable females.
All throughout history different things have contributed to paradigm shifts, from religious oppression, to questioning dissonant conceptual frameworks. The cognitive and emotional factors can lead to mass awareness. Don’t let anyone convince you that being motivated by emotion is histrionic and illogical. We are all motivated by emotions. Thoughts are deeper than speech and emotions are deeper than thought. Therefore with some added logic, self-control and balance – our emotions can be the most powerful and driving force in our lives.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2018). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The Inside Passage Map is a soulful and romantic map integrating cartography, poetry, visual art, historical research, inspiration, nature and different cultures of people.
A unique portrayal of the west coast has been created. The goal was to create a beautiful collector’s map with a diverse range of information and ideas.
At the heart of the map is the desire to bring recognition and appreciation for the power and harmony within lyric poetry – by bringing it to you alive – as art.
Points of Interest
The Border – Intricate and full of detail, the design alternates between panoramic west coast scenery and flowers, with sea life weaved in between. The decorative cameos, which are centered in the border, contain ghosted flowers and verse. This tiny poem is referred to as the “rhyming riddle”. If you follow the rhyme of each line within each cameo, you will be able to figure out the correct order of the verse. It was originally written as a twelve-line poem. It captures the overall theme and design of the map.
The Legend Box – The legend box gives the title and the main poem, which together, create a parallel between both the outer and inner conditions that we face in our lives. The third line of the poem refers to tragedy and death (swallows sleep). Wind O’less means windowless and refers to the inner person. Inside of ourselves – unseen by other people, the waves of emotion, the cycles of despair, and contractions of grief are compared to the waves of the ocean in force and rhythm. The Inside Passage poem was born of this understanding. It is a sequel to grief-written poems called Lunar Tunes and Window Pain.
The Quiet-West Crest – The bottom center of the legend box is a crest designed to visually express the profile and goals of Quiet West Publishing. Firstly it contains a scrolled map to represent the historical BC coastal collector’s map concept. An open book contains reductions of actual stained glass windows with images of ladies wearing brimmed hats. Above the book a paintbrush and pen are crossed, combining the literary and visual arts. The rising sun represents the hope we have for each tomorrow.
Cartouches – The eagle, sighted frequently along the west coast is shown flying down to her nest and represents responsibilities to future generations. The bear, shown to the left of the legend box, is near Tatshenshini – Alsek Park. This region, which is home to countless species of wildlife, is one of the most important protected wilderness parks in the world. To the left of the compass rose, there is a scene depicting trade between the European and Haida people. The costumes, along with the illustration of the Haida settlement in the background are historically and culturally representative. The Nuu-chal-nuth people are featured in the whaling expedition scene. This dramatic cartouche was placed in close proximity to Quatsino Sound, the historical whaling harbor on northern Vancouver Island. The face in the wind represents the stormy and treacherous conditions on western Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. Cherubs hover over the globe to show the location of the Inside Passage and to represent a stylistic feature commonly used on seventeenth century maps.
The Compass Rose – The interesting and elaborate compass rose design was created by placing a borrowed seventeenth century brooch on a hand-made European lace doily. The brooch was brought to Canada by Scandinavian war bride Elinor Thun. She wrote the description as follows: “This particular brooch is more than eight hundred years old, and came from a western fjord in Norway at Siem, near Bergen from the maternal side of my family. It is known in Norwegian as “solje or kappe-brosje”. Brooches of these types were used by men and women to hold their capes in place. Jewelry of the day was worn as an expression of wealth, and would sometimes be given as gifts from one king to another. The Vikings were great travellers and the designs show an eastern flair which would eventually weave itself into the culture of the Norse-lands.” Elinor Thun Ueland 1994.
Cartography – The map was created by using an extensive amount of historical reference material, by translating poems into images – and by merging art with technology. Land contours and shoreline details were carefully blended to create emphasis and depth. Mossy greens, white mountain peaks, rich earth tones, hand lettered names, and locations of notable shipwrecks bring harmony and intrigue into the map.
Whether your interests are philosophical or artistic, this map demonstrates originality and lasting value. It is a truly great work – to honour one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Measures 24″ x 36″.
Created and Published in 1993 by Quiet West Publishing & Marketing.
Purchase on this website for $40.00 each + Shipping. It can be found under Categories – Accessories Art Objects. Two for $35.00 each. For wholesale prices contact Valerie at quietwest@yahoo.com.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2018). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Every Surrey Classic coat I have come across was beautifully made, with unique buttons, contrasting lining, and luxurious natural fabric. In some cases the designs reflect our Canadian conservatism. I guess being Canadian, I might have seen more of them than the average person. I assumed they are well known, but after checking on Google a few times, I cannot find the designer history (so far).
From memory, based on what I have seen over the years – I am guessing they were making coats from the late fifties until the late seventies. Many of them are camel hair or cashmere wool blends, and often in subtle, neutral toned plaids. But in the sixties they did a series of stylish cotton velvet coats in bright colours – to include hot pink, cerulean blue, indigo and purple. Below is an example of one of their velvet classics – a double breasted hooded design. It looks like a good, all-season dress coat for Vancouver’s west coast weather!
It features a square cut hood that hooks up at the neckline, adding a practical and coveted detail, as it prevents the hood from blowing off while walking against the wind and rain. The buttons are open with small, square, lucite inserts. The back has a wide half belt as an accent, to offset the slight gathering and flare of the skirt. Best of all – it is in a rich and absorbing African Violet colour – certain to be a head turner, like walking in full bloom!
For a long time, antique and vintage ivory and furs were in a different category from the new ones. It was generally considered okay and ethical to buy and sell these items if they were classified vintage or antique. I have never had much attraction to buying vintage fur, with the exception of some mink hats and headbands, and a few items with genuine fur collars. The list of banished furs includes fur from all big cats, all primate fur, and all types of bear fur. Sealskin products cannot be exported to the USA, European Union, Mexico, or Taiwan. Canada is one of the few countries that permits the sale of sealskin items.
Ivory has become a taboo product due to the poaching, endangered elephants, and the skill artisans have to make it look antique. Although it is not illegal to own inherited or antique ivory, it can no longer be exported or sold. Some of these laws are fairly recent and expanding to include other countries. The only way to identify the age of the ivory is through carbon dating. Recently an antique dealer in Toronto was fined and charged for having carved elephant tusks for sale. As it turned out, they were able to identify the age of the tusks, which placed them in the seventies when poaching was a real problem.
Over the years, I have picked up some ivory necklaces and bracelets but cannot be sure how old the pieces are. It seems the best thing is to donate them to a museum or educational institute. Different types of ivory can be identified by the pattern of the schreger lines. The location the ivory came from can also be identified because they can determine the diets of the elephants by the tusks.
One of the many sad things about the poaching, is that of all the elephants that die naturally, the ivory cannot be used because of the illegal activity associated with it. It’s too bad the elephants were not protected from poachers in the first place. There should have been a method of making sure all tusks were matched to the death of the elephant. The product made from the tusks of elephants that died naturally should have been hallmarked as such. It would be a good idea to have a method of marking during the creation of the piece, similar to what they did to help people avoid buying blood diamonds. Ivory is very beautiful, especially since it has often been combined with some of the most exquisite carving known to man.
As far as the example set in Kenya where tons of confiscated ivory was burned – on principle, I disagree with the destruction of artifacts. However, the issues surrounding the endangerment of these beautiful and intelligent creatures, the horrors of poaching, and the difficulty in accurately dating the ivory – makes the bans understandable.
There can be some confusion in terminology surrounding vegetable ivory and what is referred to as “French ivory”. Vegetable ivory is from tagua nuts and can be carved, decorated or dyed. French ivory is a type of celluloid or plastic that looks like ivory. French ivory and vegetable ivory have nothing to do with elephants or endangered species.
Now it’s time to see if any of the feathers on the hats are from endangered birds! I do have one hat with a real bird on it. It is a black hat embellished at the front with a small blackbird – dating it prior to the 1909 ban on such practices. The moral of this story is an anthropomorphic oxymoron. From an animal’s perspective – humans do some very strange things!
A few ivory sample pieces from the Quiet West collection:
Carved Ivory Necklace Featuring A Large Scarab
Carved Ivory From Hawaii
Antique Necklace Featuring Carved ivory Beads
Antique Carved Elephants From Africa 1920’s or 1930’s
Antique Asian Carved Small Bottle
Maker’s Marks
Example Of French Ivory Or Celluloid Antique Ring Box
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2018). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Trifari became one of the world’s most recognizable names in collectible costume jewelery. Italian immigrant Gustavo Trifari founded the company in New York City in 1910. In 1930 Alfred Philippe joined Trifari as the head designer. Prior to joining Trifari, he had been with Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Phillipe preferred using individually hand set imported Swarovski crystals. Similar to mid-century Ciner and Panetta jewelry – the designers first worked with precious metals and gemstones. When the glamorous era of the thirties caught on – the objective was to make costume jewelry of such a quality as to mimic the real thing.
After the war Trifari developed their own type of base metal called “Trifanium” . During the fifties and sixties the company continued to grow and thrive in the business of ritz and glitz glamour. In 1968 the legendary designer Alfred Philippe retired. Andre Boeuf (also previously from Cartier) became a lead designer. During the seventies notable designers Kenneth Jay Lane, Kunio Matsumoto, Marcells Saltz, and Jean Paris created designs for Trifari.
Trifari remained a family run business until the early sixties. It was sold to Hallmark in the seventies, and then purchased by Chase Capital (Monet Group). By 2000 Trifari was sold to the Liz Claiborne Corporation and moved production overseas. Certain luxury vintage costume jewelry will occasionally be unsigned (such as Chanel, Weiss, Sherman and some unknown early and mid-century master craftsmen and designers). One little known fact to share about Trifari – is that their pieces are always signed. The patent numbers and corresponding dates can be researched on Google.
The following are a few examples of Trifari jewelry in a range of dates prior to 2000.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2017). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The French designer Rodier has maintained a certain obscurity or subtlety over the past century. But once acquainted with some of their product, this brand is worthy of accolades for its long tradition of excellence in knitwear.
The House of Rodier was formally established in France during the mid eighteen hundreds. With a primary focus on knitwear, they began redesigning shawls of the Kashmir, which brought them acclaim for their creative divergency. The elaborately decorated shawls from the late eighteen hundreds through to the twenties, created stunning examples of the arts and culture of the time.
During the 1920’s and 1930’s Rodier assisted Jean Patou as he embarked on his career in fashion design. They also redesigned a fine knit jersey commonly used in undergarments, which was later made famous by Chanel. The looms of Rodier attracted much inspiration from other cultures. Like a laboratory of looms, they experimented with a variety of fabrics to include spun rayon called senellic. Some articles claim Rodier made sweaters for Chanel, Patou, Lanvin and other luxury brands during the post war years. Since inception – they were central to the “sweater and knitwear source” coming out of France.
Rodier created its first ready to wear line in 1956, and like all luxury brand companies has gone through many changes over the years. In the 1980’s they did an expansion with a focus on the US market. Over the following decade they spiced up their line and sold to multiple luxury boutiques.
As the century came to a close Rodier opted to do a number of licensing agreements. Alas, the tradition of excellence may now be compromised, which makes the earlier Rodier knitwear as distinctive and coveted as it was during Napoleon’s reign.
Below are some pre-millennial examples of Rodier sweaters:
The second hand market in Canada is flourishing with the buying, selling and swapping of a wide range of interesting products. It has given rise to some near maniacal television shows like a modern day gold rush with lots of buzz and excitement. Thanks to the Internet – no one has to go panning for the valuables in creeks, cross uncharted mountain ranges, or even risk their lives. According to Kijiji alone, Canadians bought sold or swapped used products to the tune of 1.9 billion dollars in 2016. It’s interesting to note that British Columbians buy four times the national average in second hand goods.
Thrift stores are magnets for serious collectors. It has only been since the nineties that thrift store shopping has been trending upward. The stigmatization of buying second hand began to vanish and soon after became trendy. The idea of collecting a product line in the second hand market makes so much sense. Everything from old Levis, to antique glass and porcelain, limited edition and original art, concert band T-shirts, motorcycle memorabilia, and my favourite – vintage clothing and textiles, has gone up exponentially. The value of certain things has increased as online selling has become easier to get into. Along the same lines as the theory of like aggregates, like items are more easily accessed and compared by interested consumers. The more unique, artistic, rare, made by famous designers, in demand or outlandishly quirky – the more likely it will increase in value.
I find it very intriguing when I come across other collectors and gradually begin to notice what they collect. In one case, it was a tennis player who knew the pricing and quality of tennis rackets. He would select certain brands for five bucks or so, have them restrung and then resell them for several hundred dollars each. Another man was buying 35mm camera lenses and combining components of them to rebuild lenses with uniquely exaggerated fish eye or bokeh capabilities.
For several years there was a man with a thick Russian accent looking for and buying cashmere. He accumulated an entire roomful of sweaters. Apparently no one was sure what he intended to do with them. After he died, I learned through the rumor mill that he had planned to send them back to where he was born in Russia. He had grown up impoverished and it was “always so cold”. It’s really too bad the cashmere didn’t get packed up and sent to his hometown.
The second hand market is filled with eclectic hobbyists and hidden professionals. Most of us have no clue what motivates another person to collect what they collect. The more knowledge the person has about the specific items, the more he/she will spot authentic items with value. Glass is a good example. It ranges from hand painted moriage in Japanese porcelain to the incredible spectrum of murano glass from Italy.
The differentiation between hoarders and collectors is easy to make. Hoarders have a diminished capacity to make selections. Therefore they do not collect based on knowledge and a larger vision, but rather on fear of throwing things away because they might need or want them some day. Hoarders tend to be disorganized and non-sensical in what they stockpile and do not like to get rid of things.
Collectors on the other hand are always culling and getting rid of mistakes because that’s how we learn. It is also how a collection is refined and built to higher standards. In addition for collectors, the collection becomes increasingly organized. Whereas with hoarders it is the exact opposite and everything piles up uncontrollably. The collector is motivated to a large degree by curiosity and learning. The collection itself has a systems component.
In my opinion there is no other place but the second hand market to find high quality items and products for resale, at a fraction of the cost. You could not buy the buttons for a designer jacket for what it costs to buy one in a second hand store. And then you would still have to sit and sew them all onto the jacket.
Canada’s high standard and good reputation in the online second hand market can be credited to Montreal and Toronto. Montreal mid-century designers are now being recognized in the upscale International vintage clothing markets. Canada has turned out some world-renowned luxury brand names such as Claire Haddad, Wayne Clark, Bill Tice, Gustave Sherman, Patricia Fieldwalker, Val Hughes and Madame Runge as some examples. Next to Italy, France, and the US – we can hold our own quite well in comparison to most other countries.
There are countless good reasons to promote the Canadian second hand market. We are an affluent country with much history and culture – due to the diversity and widespread travel. We have a great selection and clean well organized second hand stores. I skim through roughly 30,000 new items per week. Of that I might select six to ten items on average.
With everything from obscure coins, antique glass and art – to old typewriters and some very unique hand made musical instruments with wooden tuners, we have enough abundance in our second hand stores to contribute to E-Commerce, education, niche markets, hobbyists and recycling. The identification of unique product lines and global trends – is continually increasing the scope and opportunities within the second hand markets. It also creates an eclectic exhibit of our diverse Canadian culture and heritage.
Taxco Mexican Sterling Silver
Leaded Glass Crystal 1950s Germany
Antique Claret Jug Or Decanter For French Bordeaux Wines
Porcelain Bust Made In Germany
A Tribute To Beethoven
Antique Asian Symbolic Figures
Hand Painted Dresser Jar 1940’s Japan
Antique Carved Bamboo Three Dimensional Images
Mid-Century Porcelain Fish Teapot Made In Japan
Antique Wooden Child’s Toy
Cloisonne Owls
Carved & Signed Figural Animal Head
Alligator Covered Box With Artwork On Lid
Antique Asian Wooden Cigarette Box
Antique Carved Wooden Serving Dish Haida Gwaii
Carved Stone Owl On Peach Coloured Quartz
Antique Wooden Hens
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2017). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
As much as we can appreciate and learn from the expertise of others, beware of the collectors and sellers who claim to know it all. For those who are truly immersed in vintage textiles and design, it is a never-ending learning curve. When we seriously delve into the arts, like many other vast topics – it will increase our awareness of how little we know. A stubborn superiority will do nothing to alleviate our ignorance.
There are thousands of different types of fabric. Rayon alone has fifty different types and descriptions. The difference between hand loomed and machine loomed requires knowledge and a close examination of the garment. Fabrics such as mock crochet and many of the silk satin blends used in vintage clothing are now obsolete. Historical textiles from Egypt, India and Japan, for instance – can be traced back two or three thousand years. One could study textiles alone for an entire lifetime and still not know it all.
The same goes for jewelry. For example, there are thousands of sterling silver markings. I believe Mexico alone has around twenty-five hundred. Jewelry is fairly easy to transport and save – therefore it is more likely to survive the test of time. The country of origin in both textiles and jewelry design shines through in the product. Mexican sterling silver is artistically superb – especially the early and mid-century Taxco. Scandinavian and Navajo sterling silver has a very different and distinctive look compared to Mexican sterling silver. Gemstones in the jewelry also reflect the country of origin, such as the old turquoise mines, gemstones in the particular location, various treatments, settings, and alloys used.
One of the big questions in vintage clothing is in the perceived authentication of designer pieces. I don’t dispute that the vintage clothing market is complex, because it is and always has been in a state of flux and change. It is easiest to see this once you compare the same brand from decade to decade. Louis Feraud clothing from the sixties is highly desirable and recognizable. The eighties Louis Feraud is not as distinctive or as creative, however some of the scarves and certain pieces are drop dead gorgeous regardless of the age.
In my opinion the primary way to authenticate a designer garment is twofold – one is by the labels. The other is by the fabric and design. The best designer vintage has all labels to include the brand, fabric and where it was made. Pre-seventies clothing will often not have fabric content because it was not a legal requirement to have the fabric and care labels until then. Experience does help with evaluating the authenticity of a garment. However, if that information cannot be passed onto the consumer logically and without the pretense of knowing something they don’t know – how is that fair to the consumer or to the industry?
The art and history surrounding fashion design and textiles is as vast as any field can be. We are studiers and stewards of things that came before us – things we ourselves did not create. As human beings we are prone to making mistakes. There are hundreds of little tricks to help us identify things. If you use a jeweler’s loupe to examine fabric, it helps differentiate types of embroidery, the warp and weft of the fabric, loomed versus printed, damask versus brocade, etc. Gradually more and more criteria gets added to the list in your head when evaluating vintage garments. Anything that has covered buttons and/or silk lining warrants a second look.
A jeweler’s loupe will also help identify hand painted versus transfer decal, because you can see the dot pattern in anything that is printed. To determine if cinnabar is real, you hold the loupe at an angle and look for the layers in the lacquering. There is a very strong intuitive sense one gets from certain things. In some cases I will know immediately if the item is authentic – without looking at any labels. I do not buy anything designer with a Made in China label with the exception of vintage and antique Chinese silk embroidered pieces and Chinese export porcelain (and mud men). A small percentage of things in the collection are made in Hong Kong.
In many cases with jewelry I cannot identify markings that are worn or too faded. Another example is that designer labels like Dries van Noten were originally made in Belgium. Now many of the luxury labels are made in India. Dries van Noten also has clothing made in Romania on newer items. My philosophy is to be honest and up front about where an item was made and price accordingly. I do not consider famous brands to be authentic unless they are made in the country of origin. It may be a purist attitude but that’s how I see it.
In reality vintage designer clothing has become the crème de la crème of high fashion. Certain iconic pieces by Versace, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, Karl Lagerfeld, Rudy Gernreich, Christian Dior, Valentino, Courreges as just some examples – are now fetching prices between five and twenty-five thousand dollars per item. Some of the well-preserved dresses from the twenties are now listed on various sites for several thousand dollars each. I checked a textile auction in New York and saw that designer dresses with significant damage from the fifties and sixties sold for close to a thousand dollars each.
The clincher is that certain pieces by certain designers at specific times in their careers – are like original or limited edition art pieces. They represent the creative genius that drapes the human form – with rich colors, textiles, fluidity of movement and multi-dimensional ideas. The art in design has no room for know-it-alls. It is one big mirror room – both dazzling and dizzying in scope. A vintage clothing collection reflects the culture of a country. Online collections of vintage clothing from different locations are a unique representation of local talent as well as the migratory nature of things from faraway. I love to look at collections of vintage kimonos from Japan. The artistic elements of the Japanese kimonos surpass most textiles. A collection of vintage kaftans from Morocco would create an awesome and inspirational show.
We are all partakers of fashion to some degree. Some of us like to keep fanning the flames of fame for those with vision because they created beautiful things with lasting value. We pluck what we pluck for many reasons. I believe it is best to be dedicated to learning and willing to admit and correct mistakes. Why? Curiosity is a driving force. The field is sweeping and boundless. The biggest mistake is to get arrogant and convey to consumers that we know-it-all. It is completely acceptable to cite ones credentials – with specifics, not braggadocio hot air. We are more or less prone to filling in gaps with mere conjecture. I do accept and respect the knowledge of others, but it is not based on what they claim to be, more on what they are interested in and have experience with.
To create a division between “us and them” from those who declare to be experts – is the kind of limit the arts neither needs nor accepts. Just as in poetry, we get to pick and choose our words. That’s the beauty of art. Quite simply when it comes to vintage fashion and design – no one knows it all. The flow and finesse surrounding beauty and creativity in the arts contains a central hypothesis. Since it applies to almost all things requiring talent or knowledge – not only in the visual arts, but also in sports, literature, music, academia and technology. The bottom line is – show me your stuff. Don’t tell me how great you are. When it comes to vintage fashion – we are talking about material things. Besides all that – it is probably wise and a better reality check, to let those with less of a cognitive bias, be the ones to decide how great we are.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2017). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
To sum up the Canadian Designer Celebration mini series, a high percentage of Canada’s best mid-century designs and designers, have their roots in Montreal. The more I delve into the collection, and the labels – the more I realize how much of our great fashion history can be credited to Montreal. When it comes to fashion, the French do not disappoint. Toronto as a second runner-up, retains a mid-century vibrancy, with its legacy of notable designers.
The Montreal designed little black cocktail dresses from the sixties, are as sleek, and as wearable today, as they were back then. The hallmark of a great designer, is in the timelessness of their creations. I will happily share some exclusive examples…Starting with a late fifties, or early sixties Irving Nadler lace cocktail dress with a cape style top.
Irving Nadler, Montreal Late 1950’s or early 1960’s Cocktail Dress
The next 1960’s little black dress from Montreal is aptly labeled – After dark Cocktails.
After dark Cocktails, Montreal 1960’s black halter dress.
Another Montreal classic little black dress, 1960’s black velvet, with gold piping at the waist. This one has the musical label – Beau Time Melodie Frocks.
An impressive 1950’s full circle skirt by Montreal designer Val Hughes.
To end the series on a brighter note, this very artistic, abstract printed silk skirt, is labelled Cocktail Montreal. Thanks to these fabulous and talented designers of the eras – they put Canada on the runway, when it comes to mid-century chic.
Madame Runge was an upscale retail shop on South Granville Street in Vancouver, from the late thirties until the seventies. I believe most of the clothing designs they carried, were commissioned and made by Montreal designers. Some of the examples are; Harold Taub For Madame Runge, Silverworm For Madame Runge, Gerson For Madame Runge… Regardless of the different designers, vintage clothing with Madame Runge labels are of exceptional fabric, style and quality.
The last image in the post, is a 1960’s double breasted green wool coat. It shows both the Madame Runge label, as well as “Styled By Gerson Inc. Montreal”. Although Madame Runge was based out of Vancouver, it is a rarity now, to come across the label in Vancouver.
The first dress and coat set in this post has been in the Quiet West Vintage collection for about thirty years. The green silk fil coup dress below it, is a more recent purchase. One thing for certain, Madame Runge labels are, and always will be, sought after and treasured by vintage clothing connoisseurs.
Madame Runge Dress & Coat Set
Madame Runge Dress With Ruffle & Trim
Madame Runge Close Up Buttons & Trim
Madame Runge 1970’s Silk Fil Coup With Plunging Neckline
Madame Runge 1960’s Double Breasted Wool Coat Co-Labeled Styled By Gerson Montreal
This exceptional 1980’s Wayne Clark Couture dress, is made of layered silk chiffon, with rhinestone embellished lace inserts in the bodice, and sheer balloon sleeves. The dress has rows of satin piping down the length of the skirt, satin cuffs, and matching trim on the bottom layers, of an asymmetrical hemline. The back is open, plunging to the waist, and ties at the back of the neck, with a dangling satin ribbon.
For those who love the floating and fluid movement of a silk chiffon skirt, and being well covered; in a pose to behold. Those watching your back, will know… A Wayne Clark dress – is worth its weight in the folds!
Gustave Sherman of Montreal made costume jewellery from 1947-1981. The company logo was “made to last a lifetime”. He sourced out, and used the highest quality Swarovski crystals, and set very high production standards. The backing on Sherman jewellery is heavily rhodium plated, japanned, or sterling. The stones are brilliant, cut with precision, into narrow marquise stones, with cluster elements, and stunning designs. Sherman jewellery lasts to this day, and will last much longer, therefore the jewellery was made to last more than one lifetime.
Sherman jewellery has always been recognized as high end costume jewellery, and was sold through luxury retailers and jewellery stores. The jewellery continues to be highly collectible. Certain pieces, in particular full sets, and the colour Siam red, command high prices, and have set off bidding wars on Ebay. Gustave Sherman passed away in 1984. His legacy, and commitment to the highest standards in craftsmanship, has left us with sparkle and shine – to wear and to admire, for many years to come. From the Quiet West collection, the following are some fine examples of the lasting quality in Sherman jewellery.
Claire Haddad: Born July 17, 1924 – May 17, 2016. Her bio states she is “an Order of Canada recipient, and fashion designer to the stars”. One of her dresses was on the front cover of Vogue magazine in April 1966, worn by model Veruschka von Lendorff, and photographed by Rubartelli.
Based out of Toronto she was known for creating eclectic lounge wear, and luxurious high fashion sleepwear from the early sixties until the eighties. She was forward thinking enough to envision loungewear, worn as elegant evening attire outside the home.
From the Quiet West collection – it is a pleasure to share a fabulous 1960’s Claire Haddad kaftan featuring a desert scene on a vivd background of electrifying colours, which was so hip in the sixties. The trim is black, loopy cord, and outlines the neckline downward to the V opening on the front. The trim changes into looped cord buttonholes, for small, rounded black buttons. The two front slits and sleeves are also accented with matching trim. The overall portrayal is so sixties trippy – of swaying, shocking pink palm trees – and camels heading into a psychedelic oasis. It really is brilliant!
The reality is that most luxe brands are now outsourced to China, India, Tunsia, Sri Lanka, Romania, Turkey, Bangladesh, and so on. In many cases, the label will have Italy or Paris written on it, but the fabric content and care label, will give the real country of origin. Items without a country of origin label; can be assumed to be outsourced, unless they are authentic vintage, and the item holds up to scrutiny in the textile, workmanship, and design.
With years of experience, in looking through racks of second hand clothing, the country of origin can often be recognized without even looking at the label. One of the rising values in the spectrum of the vintage fashion market is that – it is fast becoming the only place one can buy authentic luxury brand fashion items, from the original country of origin. Regardless of advertising to the contrary, there are inherent differences among the countries:
Canada & UK – tend to manufacture clothing of good quality and materials, however the style or design, often leaves much to be desired. Both countries have turned out some awesome luxury brand designers such as Frank Usher and Mulberry in Britain, and Claire Haddad and Wayne Clark in Canada. However, the frumpy, conservative and stodgy – is definitely in with the mix.
USA – with New York as a global fashion hub, the US has turned out many luxe brands, with vintage hats near the top of the list. Similar to Canada and Britain, there is generally good quality and workmanship, with some fantastic designs, and others to pass by.
China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh – for the most part, the clothing is flimsy, fast fashion.
Japan – turns out the most beautiful textiles, with the kimonos being works of art. Textiles made in Japan, are not that common, but in my experience, tend to be of good quality and construction.
India – with a rich history in textiles, turns out the most beautifully embellished fabrics, using beads, embroidery, tiny mirrors, and appliqués, often on vibrantly coloured silks. The clothing is usually casual, like the summertime free flowing dresses and skirts, so commonly seen. The problem is – so much of the clothing from India, does not have proper closures. If they do, they may not line up quite right. In my opinion, it is like there is greater focus on the textile, than there is on the garment construction.
Switzerland & Belgium – are at the top of the list when it comes to cost of labor. Dries Van Noten is a luxe brand originally from Belgium, and now outsourcing to India. I have items from this designer, from both Belgium and India, and do notice a difference.
Germany – has made luxe brands such as Louis Feraud, and Escada (originally made in Germany, now made in India) and several other well known brands. They tend to make quality clothing, with some great historical designers, but with a tendency (like Canada and the UK) to maintain high values for quality, practicality and common sense.
Australia & New Zealand – are also very high in labour cost. Similar to Canada, and Britain, they tend to make clothing of good quality and workmanship. I seldom come across things from Australia and New Zealand, and have only picked up a few items made there.
Italy & France – I concentrate on finding clothing made in Italy and France especially, and would estimate less than 1% of items in the second hand market are made in France. There are a half a dozen French labels I don’t buy when they turn up, such as Morgan de Toi and Copine. Some of the Italian labels are also categorically not worth buying. But, for the most part, the best clothing items, superior in fabric, quality, design and workmanship – are made in Italy or France.
In summary, Italy and France can never be displaced, or replaced – when it comes to the innate and historical savour-faire in the soigné circles!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2016). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
There will always be artisans and master craftsmen who make beautiful jewelry. The biggest difference between today’s costume jewelry makers, and the early mid-century jewelry makers; is that, jewelers like Ciner, before he started making costume jewelry, was a designer and master craftsmen, who made fine jewelry using precious metals and gemstones. He was not just artsy – he knew the trade, and the commitment to task required to make high quality jewelry.
Emanuel Ciner started his jewelry making company in 1892 in New York City. In the thirties and forties, when glamorous costume jewelry became the craze; Ciner, along with several other fine jewelers (such as Panetta and Marcel Boucher), started making jewelry to emulate the real thing. They used designs and production standards on costume jewelry that is equivalent to settings in platinum and gold, replacing diamonds and gemstones with exquisite Austrian Swarovski crystals. The faux pearls were developed in Japan, using a fine nacre-like glaze, set in multiple layers, over glass beads – thus replicating the lustrous sheen of real pearls.
This level of quality and finery in adornment, attracted the celebrities, who loved the glamour and the spotlight. Ciner continues to make jewelry to this day, but apparently the vintage pieces, in particular, the necklaces, remain the most sought after by collectors. The necklace in this post was made after 1955, and is fairly heavy. The pieces in this post are most likely late fifties and early sixties.
Ciner Dramatic Mid Century Ear Clips
Ciner Ear Clips 1950’s or early 1960’s
Ciner Gold Tone Bamboo Patterned Necklace – Signed
As an update to this post – I stand corrected. I read on an antique jewellery blog, that the term for this example would be simply mosaic. I described it as micro, because it has tiny bits of glass arranged in a mosaic. The term micro mosaic actually refers to mosaics so fine, they look like a painting. The finer micro-mosaics were usually set in gold. Another term in the same genre, is pietra dura. It is the Italian term for the use of (gem)stones in a mosaic, as opposed to glass.
As with many brand names, there is now an I. Magnin, making licensed product, using the I. Magnin name, without the Co. at the end, and without the same level of quality. Due to mergers and takeovers, it was bought out by Macy’s, who now uses the name or trademark, for a house brand of clothing. The original I. Magnin & Co. was a department store started by an enterprising couple in the late eighteen hundreds in San Francisco. After the earthquake and fire in 1906, the couple managed to keep the business alive by selling product out of their home during the period of rebuilding.
By 1912, the company had secured several retail locations in high end hotels. They expanded from there, creating a large, luxury brand department store footprint in the west. One of the most notable locations (they moved into in 1948) was in Union Square, and was referred to as the White Marble Palace. Once in the high end market (from 1912 on), they began importing the latest Parisian styles, attracting a growing and upscale clientele. The earliest I. Magnin & Co. items will have “Paris” or “Imported” on the label. They focused on couture, and bought from designers such as Christian Dior, Lanvin and Chanel. This was during a time when these designers were keen to get into the North American market.
The I. Magnin & Co. also designed and made luxury brand clothing in the U.S. The following link shows the many locations, and how much they expanded during the post war years:
The hat featured in this post is a gem from I. Magnin & Co. when they were still at their peak, in the Fashion Square concept that was started in 1944, following a merge with Bullocks.
The dress featured in this post is an earlier I. Magnin & Co. Imported dress. As an educated guess, I believe it is a 1930’s or early 40’s (pre-war) full length Lanvin dress with a softly draping, very wide full skirt, in a fun-ky fruit like print, with a matching hood! It’s gorgeous. The following link is a good article on the history and background of Lanvin:
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2016). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
In 2013, the founders of Marni Knits in Toronto, retired and closed shop after more than fifty years in business together. The story of this company is so inspirational because it shows us; not only the teamwork and longevity surrounding their union and marriage, but also, that their designs and creations came from a true “hands on” labour of love. The following CBC story provides the background and history of this sweet Canadian love story – giving us a glimpse into how they managed to knit their lives together:
Below is an example of a hand loomed dress by Marni Knits. So far, it is the only Marni Knit item in the Quiet West Vintage collection. It is estimated to be from the seventies:
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2015). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Tesserae is the term that is used to describe one of the smallest components of stone or glass used to create a mosaic. During the Renaissance (14th-17th century) Italy – with its famous glass makers and master craftsmen, began to create micro mosaic jewelry. They created scenes and religious icons by arranging tiny bits of cut glass within a setting.
The real trend or popularity of wearing micro mosaic jewelry followed the Renaissance period into what is described as the Grand Tour between the 17th and 19th century. This promotional tour consisted of the European upper class traveling to Italy to take in the famed Italian arts and culture. During this time, the Italian peninsula became a popular tourist destination for the scenery, the enhanced social status, education and cultural adventure that was part of the Grand Tour experience.
Micro mosaics were used in other art objects in addition to jewelry. It was generally considered that the finer and smaller the tesserae, the more valuable the piece. The pin and bracelet in this post are examples of Italian mosaic jewelry. You can click on the image and then maximize it for a closer look at the tiny tesserae – as well as the detailed metal work within the setting.
Italian Mico-Mosaic
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2015). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
In the eighties and nineties I organized a few vintage fashion shows and did some basic research in order to do the narration for each show. What I learned then, is that fashion has traditionally had a thirty-five year cycle, where the styles of one era would be revived and re-created again, with some innovative variations. Because of this, there were distinctive things that “dated” clothing. For example, in the seventies, we wore bell-bottoms that were so wide and long that the bottoms became frayed and you tripped over them while crossing the street. Or, when those high-rise jeans that fit snugly around your waist went to the other extreme, followed by several years with clothing racks full of jeans and slacks that were so low in the rise that they had a one-inch long zipper. If you wore the style from a previous decade – it was ridiculed. But, let’s face it – some styles are ridiculous. Absurd actually. But, it’s not necessarily their age that makes them absurd.
Sometime into the eighties the fashion cycle began to shrink. During that time the frequency of the changes in fashion began to increase. The thirty-five year cycle went to twenty years, then ten, and early in the millennium, I recall reading that it had shrunk to seven years. This rapid cycling has become known as fast fashion. The mass produced disposable end of the clothing market has been churning out vintage inspired trends faster than we can follow. The underlying reason for this is that constantly changing trends and low prices will drive volume sales and increase the fashion industries profits. But ironically, what it has also done, is to increase individual freedom and create a much broader horizon for individual style and choice. Sort of an “anything goes” scenario that is a fairly new concept in the scope of fashion history. Therefore, this rapid spin of fast fashion might be losing its point, or its sustainability, as others predicted would happen years ago. On the up side, it has resulted in a significant blurring of the line between what’s in and what’s not in style. Since things so often swing to extremes, and fast fashion is filling up the landfills – maybe now we can swing back to the foundational quality and garment care that our wiser forefathers embraced.
To be rational about all the vintage buzz, a high percentage of vintage clothing is not worth keeping or copying. Just because it is vintage doesn’t mean it has style. And just because it is second hand doesn’t mean it is vintage. When clothing is advertised as vintage inspired or vintage styled – it is simply a capitalization of a now popular buzz-word, in order to increase the sales of their mass produced clothing. The other thing to be aware of – is that a percentage of authentic vintage clothing is made with exceptional style, quality of workmanship and material – yet it may not have a designer label. I know this statement seemingly contradicts a previous post I wrote about licensing brands, fakes and knock-offs, but in that case, the reference is to designer and contemporary clothing. Vintage has a different knowledge base regarding fabrics and sewing techniques, with some unusual quirks in the placement and types of labels used. Some of the beautiful and professionally made dresses from the thirties, forties and fifties don’t have designer labels.
There will always be trends. I believe the trend that is developing now is one of a much more sophisticated consumer. One who is inclined to research, to be more environmentally aware – and will wear what suits her personality and body type without being swayed so much by the spin surrounding fashion trends. Perhaps another off the grid trend is a reduced willingness to sacrifice comfort or mobility for style. After all, it’s pretty difficult to look effortlessly chic with a grimace on your face, or by tripping over twenty-four inch wide bell-bottoms. The truly fashion savvy women will seek both form and function – without sacrificing too much of either.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
There are scarves everywhere. Hundreds of them steadily turn up in every thrift store. A high percentage of them are boring. By boring, I mean there is no sensation that is evoked from the fabric. That, combined with a lack of strong visual appeal, is what creates the first impression. As part of the hunt, I have developed some shortcuts, based on the first impression. Although it sounds crazy – I skim the masses and look for a scarf that is alive. Alive with the sensation of the fabric, vibrant colours and an intriguing design. Then I check the hem, labels, corners, and look for signatures.
And sure enough, sooner or later, out of hundreds – one stands out in vibrancy and touch. It feels luxurious and the colors interplay beautifully within the canvas of the design. The edges are hand rolled and hand stitched. Such a scarf, when folded and draped, still captures and blends the components of the design.
To share a few things I have learned about luxury scarves:
Consider the fabric – Natural fabric is the most luxurious. It absorbs and captures the colors more vibrantly than synthetics. Silk and cashmere are also the warmest and softest to wear around your neck.
Consider the design – When laid flat, a scarf is like a canvas. The more colors and complexity, that which embodies detailed and sophisticated artwork – the more luxurious the scarf. The identification of artists among the famous scarf makers like Hermes, is a specialty of its own. What makes a luxury scarf really stand out in my opinion, is the way the fabric drapes and folds, bringing out smaller components of the design, that seem to blend beautifully no matter how you fold, drape or tie it.
Consider the colours – The most expensive scarves have the most number of colours, usually in a dynamic and vibrant range. Similar to offset printing, the more colour, the more expensive it is to set up and run the press.
Consider the finishing – No matter how you fold or tie a scarf, the finishing or edging is apparent. Luxury scarves have hand rolled and hand stitched hems. This complements and frames the scarf with a rounded softness and impeccable corners that do not have loose threads and linear flatness. I have read that it takes a good seamstress at least an hour to hand sew the hem of a scarf. But the time it takes would vary quite a bit, depending on the size of the scarf.
Expanding fashion horizons – Some scarves are truly beautiful works of art. The little bit that I have learned does not delve into the artistry of individual designers too much. But the artistry captures the imagination and makes you realize that it is an entire arena of fine arts, with much to be learned and appreciated.
The first two images in the post feature a silk Hermes scarf by H d’Origny, an artist well known for designing silk ties. He is now in his eighties. The two scarves featured below the Hermes, are scarves that in my opinion, are among the finest examples of luxury scarves. Both are vintage signed Louis Feraud scarves. The others are some more examples of beautiful scarves with interesting designs.
The Impressionistic Image
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The French without a doubt have the knack for fashion, with an intuitive grasp of what is ephemeral – and an even better grasp of what is timeless. To take it a step further, the style magazines tell us that the trick to developing a Parisian look is to avoid trends and work toward developing a uniquely personal signature look. The individual aesthetic is something that involves a healthy assessment of what looks and feels best, from both an objective and a subjective point of view.
Regardless of trends, true confidence involves choosing styles that flatter your figure and show what makes you distinct. For some, knee length pencil skirts look fantastic. Others look and feel better in A-line or pleated skirts. In general, the Parisian style has its foundation in quality staple items and a neutral palette. When choosing staple garments such as skirt styles, the fit is most important. Adding some French fashion pieces to your wardrobe, that are tailored to your own individual style and figure – will quite possibly become favorite wardrobe staples for many years to come. Timeless!
Philippe Salvet
M Daquin
Courreges
It’s By A.A
Lanvin
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The fashion industry is a complex one, increasingly so as time goes on, since both the licensed brands and the fakes are outsourced and mass-produced in China. If the brand has a legitimate licensing agreement, then it can be argued that the item is legally not a fake. Therefore how do you tell what is fake and what is not on these high-ticket items? Do you stop to google the corporate history, bankruptcies and mergers before you buy that Armani or Fendi blazer? In a sense, mass produced luxury brand is an oxymoron. There is a fundamental contradiction when it comes to value.
The changes in the fashion industry since the nineties or so has been staggering. One of the biggest changes is the upsurge of luxury brand outsourcing. I believe that the mass produced licensed brands should not be passed off as anything other than mass-produced and should be priced accordingly. The notion that a blazer that is mass produced in China is in the same price range as a one-off blazer made in Italy, France or Germany (with attention to detail, hand stitching and quality fabric), just because of a licensing agreement – is not fair to the consumer. The design is not everything. The fabric, workmanship and country of origin do matter.
As an example, a vintage Fendi blazer is made of 100% wool, has hand stitched trim and is very well constructed. It has all labels including where it was made. In contrast, a contemporary Fendi blazer that is a more recent purchase, has a nice style – but it is flimsy, a polyester blend. It has the Fendi label inside the jacket but no tags to indicate where it was made.
For those who are familiar with changes in the clothing labels over the past few decades, or with vintage clothing, you will be familiar with some of the early union labels. The American International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) was formed in 1900 to protect the almost all female working population from being exploited in sweatshop factories in North America. Canadian clothing from 1968 to 1984 also has the union label. These union labels are very valuable in dating vintage clothing. They also signify the North American history of the recognition of fundamental economic rights of the women and children in “sweatshop factories” – garment workers who had been working under conditions of slave labour. It was part of the battle for women’s rights in general. This is an example of what a union label looks like. It is often found in the waist or side seam of a garment.
Licensing luxury brand names is a goldmine for the licensor. But, licensed and mass produced luxury brand is not the same as the original brand. In my opinion, the country of origin – where the item was manufactured – should be a tag that is required on all garments. That way, a licensed brand can be easily identified and the consumer can decide if it is worth it. If an item is manufactured without such a tag – such as the newer Fendi blazer that I described – it does not have the quality, workmanship or label to indicate where it was made. In my opinion, that Fendi blazer is worth far less, and even in the absence of a country of origin label, it would not be honest to pretend that it is not Made in China, because after awhile you can tell, almost the minute you pick something up, if it is Made in China. It can look pretty in a picture, but it’s not the same as the real thing. You can’t expect to create a luxury product by paying low wages, with lower quality fabrics, using standards of mass production – without compromising quality.
Just like the old adage “Size Matters” – So do labels. Don’t be fooled by zero sizes and omissions of labels, or so-called authentic brand licensing. There is a big difference between the original luxury brand products and the mass produced imitations.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The word tautology has a nice ambiguous ring to it. It originated with the ancient Greeks who soon saw it as the mere repetition of words to support an argument. The logic behind it, a concept which later cropped up in propositional mathematics – is that if you reword and say the same thing over and over, each statement will fill the contingent of logic, support the argument and make it true. There is a formula.
In the forties and fifties Rudolf Flesch contributed to the recognition of tautologies in the written word. He wrote titles like “The Art of Clear Thinking” with a chapter title “How Not To Be Bamboozled”. He also wrote “The Art of Plain Talk”. Gotta love this guy!
But isn’t repetition with a few variables thrown in, the only way to reinforce something? Tautologies are getting tighter. It is the contraction of the sheer volume that must now be sifted. The information age is causing them to shrink – like wool in a hot washer. If you take out all superfluous words and repetitions – it strips the wordy embellishments to reveal the core. Padded writing is sort of like a glitzy, tacky overdone outfit.
Now, we have SEO’s and key words. We have a skeleton of tautologies in every realm. We just have to remember – that repetition – doesn’t necessarily mean that something is true or authentic. Authenticity has a solid ring to it. It holds onto some class. Maybe stripping away all superfluous and repetitious words brings us closer to poetry…since poetry says as much as possible with as few words as can be gotten away with. Therefore the core concept often has an elemental truth.
It might be on the horizon to drum up SEO’s out of a poem or a song…and like birds in the forest – the white noise is lost, leaving only the voice.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The other night I was talking to a woman about how certain aptitudes seem to come down through the generations, like it is in your blood. She was telling me about her own history in Prince Edward Island coming from a background of artists and how she learned about, and developed an appreciation for beautiful things.
My earliest recollection of my Swedish grandmother, is of watching her spend hours upon hours, spinning and carding wool. I knew she found solace in the rhythmic constancy of the spinning. She also made beautiful quilts. She fashioned bits of satin into flowers of all different colours, to create a big bouquet in the center. Then she would embroider stems and apply the leaves. Sometimes she made the flowers out of a combination of fabrics – brocades, velvet or printed cottons. The quilt, with its layers of wool in the center, was her canvas.
The spinning looked simple enough. As an adult, I have not had a chance to study many spinning wheels. When I did, I realized it is not that simple. I chatted with a woman who does spin, and is quite passionate about it. She said she had learned how to spin from watching You Tube videos, which makes a great deal of sense, since you can pause it and go over sections, you don’t yet grasp. She also explained, how at first it is a real struggle, like you want to tear your hair out. But then – when you get it, you can’t understand why you found it so difficult. I told her about my grandmother and how it almost seemed like spinning was an escape for her, and a way to relax – while shutting the world out.
From what I have read, spinning is an art form. Like other art forms, there is a variety of ways to approach it. In essence it is the art of twisting fiber, fleece, wool, silk, alpaca, angora, mohair, flax, etc. into a continuous thread. It can be spun thick or thin, plyed or unplyed, dyed, or left natural.
The You Tube website is called “The Joy of Spinning”. It turns out spinning does have an effect on the limbic system, and pathways in the brain, to create a sort of Zen-like state. You get into a flow, yet at the same time, you have to maintain concentration.
Although I don’t know how to spin yarn in the real sense, I am most convinced there is joy and relaxation to be found in doing so.
Because my Grandma proved something to me long ago…Our brains like to spin!
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Inside Passage Legendary Map By Quiet West Publishing
Ladies Wear Many Hats
Ladies wear many hats ~
We put the lady on the map,
To illuminate despair –
To journey where we dare;
To follow rivers to wilderness,
To fly and then return to nest.
To soften contours of the stone –
And pave the road with poems.
Valerie J. Hayes
Early 1900’s with Real Bird. This Practice was Banned in 1909
1960’s Velvet Rose Hat
1940’s White on Black
1950’s Scarlet Glamour
Carved Mother Of Pearl In Natural Sun Lit Colours
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
When I first started collecting vintage hats, it was enthralling to see all the different designs and colors. Hats from the thirties, forties and fifties were still fairly abundant in the late seventies and early eighties. It was considered “off the wall” to collect them. The general belief was that they would never be worn again. In fact, the key designers have retired or passed away, and many of the styles have never been made again. One thing remains true. Many people wear hats well. There are some gorgeous hats that have survived the test of time and chance.
1960’s Straw Cloche by Designer Schiaparelli
Schiaparelli Paris Label
1950’s Gold Beaded Beanie
How could they not fascinate us? A hat changes a person’s aura and creates a heady fashion statement that rivals no other part of the attire. During the 19th and 20th century, every design that could be conceived of was shaped into a hat. One of my favourite photographs is of a 1930’s hat that was listed in the Doyle Gallery in New York several years ago. It looked like a bees nest with bees buzzing all around it. There is a comic and whimsical element to a percentage of designs. Just as the hemlines went up after the war, the hats too, became either more utilitarian or more glamorous. The early 1900’s hats were still mostly wide-brimmed and decorated with flowers, berries, ribbons and even birds. The practice of taxidermy to place birds on hats was banned around 1909. Later on, in the forties – there was a bird revival. They used real feathers and made the body of the bird out of something else.
1940’s Bird Revival
During the eighties, when I collected hats that were mostly dated from the 20’s through to the 60’s – it was because those were the hats that were available and fairly abundant. I did not pay much attention to labels, but studied each hat and bought what I liked. Inadvertently, I did end up with some well known designer labels. Elsa Schiaparelli, Lilly Dache, Macy’s, Stetson Fifth Avenue, Christian Dior, Mollie Entwistle, and Jerry Yates – are some of the designers who made vintage hats to marvel at. There are many other more obscure designers who made hats to the same level of quality as the luxury designers. All were affected by the Second World War, which caused some to flourish and others to fail.
When looking for vintage hats now, I look first for a label. If it is made in China, it is not vintage, even though it may be a vintage style. A label for a quality vintage hat will be fairly large (usually) and will be made of fabric that is stitched into place inside on the back of the hat. Some of the labels have a small flower attached on the side of the label. If there is no label and you believe it is vintage, check the brim, inside the crown, to see if there is heavy grosgrain ribbon. Also, if the hat has any embellishments, evaluate what they are made of, since certain types of fabrics, ribbons, flowers, etc. were used that are not modern day. Sometimes the maker and country of origin is printed inside on the crown of the hat.
Mollie Entwistle Vintage Hat Label
1920’s Stetson Fifth Avenue
Before I acquired some Stetson Fifth Avenue hats, for some reason I thought Stetson was associated only with cowboy hats. But, Stetson Fifth Avenue made some interesting and upscale hats of different styles. A large percentage of fall and winter vintage hats are made of doeskin felt. Some are made of sealskin, which is often dyed.
1940’s Stetson Fifth Avenue
In the seventies, hats from the turn of the century were not available to the average person, unless you were a dealer, collector or museum. Hats from the thirties and forties seldom turn up in thrift stores anymore. The hats with face veils often get torn due to the fragility of the veils. Rubber bathing caps – unfortunately, there are only a few that have lasted – since rubber sticks together and disintegrates over time.
1950’s Rubber Swim Cap
Most hats can be brushed with a soft bristle natural brush in the direction of the grain and steamed into shape. Unless they are for display, it is best to keep them in a box with some acid free tissue paper. Face veils, rubber bathing caps and feathers require extra attention. Be very careful when steaming hats with feathers and avoid it altogether if the feathers have been glued onto the hat.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2017). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
The next 1960’s little black dress from Montreal is aptly labeled – After dark Cocktails.
Leopold Original, Toronto 1960’s Velvet Hat With Big Satin Bow.
M’Sieu Leon, Montreal 1970’s Beaver Fedora.
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2014). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
